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Bible  House  of  Los  Angeles 

PUBLISHERS     OF    THE 

Underscored  New  Spanish  Testament 

524  LISSNER  BUILDING  LOS  ANGELES,  CAL. 


CHE  BIBLE  HOUSE  of  Los  Angeles  is  a 
medium  for  the  distribution  of  the  Word  of 
God.  Its  principal  fields  are  the  great 
Roman  Catholic  countries  of  the  world  where  the 
Spanish  language  is  spoken,  including  South  Amer- 
ica, Central  America,  Mexico,  Spain,  Cuba,  Porto 
Rico,  the  Philippine  Islands,  etc.  The  vast  majority 
of  Catholics  possess  not  even  a  Portion  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, the  Church  of  Rome  having  never  given  its 
adherents  the  Word  of  God  to  read  for  themselves. 
The  result  of  this  famine  of  the  Word  is  that  the 
people  generally  are  utterly  ignorant  of  the  Gospel. 
The  distribution  of  Scripture  where  it  is  so  little 
known  must  be  of  interest  to  all  Christian  men  and 
women. 

Six  years  of  experience  in  this  work  confirm  our 
belief  that  the  Word  alone  is  frequently  used,  through 
the  Holy  Spirit,  to  lead  sinners  to  the  Saviour,  and 
that  generally  Roman  Catholics  accept  gladly  a 
proffered  Portion  of  the  Word.  Therefore,  we  are 
seeking  to  give  a  NEW  TESTAMENT  or  a 
GOSPEL  to  as  many  as  possible.  The  Missionaries 
and  Colporteurs  of  various  Societies  are  helping  by 
doing  the  distributing  in  their  respective  fields. 

"Brethren,  pray  for  us,  that  the  Word  of  the  Lord 
may  have  free  course,  and  be  glorified,  even  as  it  is 
with  you." 


PRESENTED       BY 

THE  BIBLE   HOUSE 
OF  LOS   ANGELES 

^  yf  ^ 

OUR  esteemed  brother  in  the  faith 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  Rev,  I. 
M.  Haldeman,  having  ''set  in 
order''  more  fully  the  great  truths  con- 
cerning "that  blessed  hope,"  which  the 
Lord  has  in  His  Word  so  fully  set  before 
His  people,  rve  esteem  it  a  privilege  to 
present  this  book  'o  lovers  of  the  truth. 
Our  prayer  is  that  it  may  aid  them  in 
rightly  dividing  the  Word  of  Truth. 

We  rvould  esteem  it  a  favor  if  those 
rvho  find  it  helpful  rvould  kindly  com- 
municate the  fact  to  us  at  254  Lissner 
Building,  Los  Angeles,  California. 


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http://www.archive.org/details/comingofchristboOOhaldrich 


THE 


Coming  of  Christ 


BOTH 

PRE-MILLENNIAL  AND 

IMMINENT 


BY 


I.  M.  HALDEMAN, 
Pastor  First  Baptist  Churchy  Neiv  York  City, 


AUTHOR  OF   'how   TO  STUDY  THE  BIBLE,       ETC. 


Third  Edition — Se^venth  Thousand 


•  C   1    > 

•    '    » 


,      »    J      -> 


Bible  House  of  Los  Angeles 

524  Lissner  Building 

Los  Angeles,  California 


CHARLES    C.   COOK, 
150  Nassau  Street,  New  York,  N.  Y. 


Copyright,  1906,  by  I.  M.  Haldeman. 


"  *  **  *  ,**  I  * 
•"  •    -  . 

•      '       •    "         fl    «    , 


«  .     _         i  ak     *'      H       *' 


PRESS  OF 

FRANCIS  EMORY  FITCH 

NEW  YORK 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER.  PAGE. 

I.  The    Issue i 

11.  Does   It   Matter? 7 

III.  Can  the  Truth  be  Known? 19 

IV.  The   Ratio   of   the   Gospel 25 

V.    The  Course  of  the  Professing  Church  in  this 

Age  (The  Testimony  of  Christ) 33 

VI.    The  Course  of  the  Professing  Church  in  this 

Age   (The  Testimony  of  Christ,  Continued)      .      51 

VII.    The  Course  of  the  Professing  Church  in  this 

Age  (The  Testimony  of  Saint  Paul)       ...      65 

VIII.  The  Course  of  the  Professing  Church  in  this 
Age  (The  Testimony  of  the  Apostles  Peter, 
James,   Jude,   John)  ........      83 

IX.    The  Course  of  the  Professing  Church  in  this 

Age    (The   Specific  Testimony   of   Saint   John)       91 

X.    The  Course  of  this  World  (Testimony  of  Christ)     113 

XL    The  Course  of  this  World  (The  Testimony  of 

the    Apostles) 131 

XII.    The  Introduction  of  the  Kingdom   (The  Testi- 
mony  of   Christ) 153 

XIII.  The  Introduction  of  the  Kingdom    (The  Testi- 

mony of  the  Apostles) 161 

XIV.  The  Introduction  of  the  Kingdom   (The  Testi- 

mony of  the   Prophets) 185 

XV.    Recalling   the   Witnesses 229 

XVI.    Summing    Up ,.     .     .    237 

XVII.    The   Scenic   Prophecy,   or.   The   Whole   Argu- 
ment in  a   Picture 245 

XVIII.    Imminency   and   Attitude 267 

XIX.    The  Two-fold  Coming  and  the  Imminency  .     .    297 

282073 


THE    ISSUE! 


"  IN  SUCH  AN  HOUR  AS  YE  THINK  NOT,  THE  SON 
OF  MAN  COMETH."— Matthew  24:44. 


CHAPTER    I 

Cfie  3f0]5ue 

All  Christians  believe  that  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is 
coming  to  this  world  a  second  time.  All  are  not  agreed 
as  to  when  He  will  come.  A  large  majority  believe  He 
will  come  after  the  Millennium. 

The  word  "  Millennium  "  is  compounded  of  two  Latin 
words,  mille,  a  thousand,  and  annum,  a  year.  The  Greek 
equivalent  is  Chiliad,  a  thousand. 

By  Millennium  is  understood,  popularly,  the  reign  of 
Christ  for  a  thousand  years  on  or  over  the  earth.  The 
fact  as  to  such  a  reign  is  set  forth  in  the  book  of  the 
Revelation,  twentieth  chapter  and  fourth  verse: 

"  They  lived  and  reigned  with  Christ  a  thousand 
years." 

Those  who  believe  that  Christ  will  not  come  till  after 
the  thousand  years,  expect  His  kingdom  to  be  introduced 
and  established,  while  He  is  away,  through  the  Gospel. 
They  suppose  the  Gospel  will  be  preached  in  all  the  earth, 
every  soul  will  at  last  hear  and  accept  it,  all  will  be  regen- 
erated, the  knowledge  of  the  Lord  will  cover  the  earth  as 
the  waters  the  face  of  the  deep,  the  spirit  of  holiness  in 
man  will  cast  out  the  spirit  of  wickedness  and  sin,  there 
will  be  neither  jealousy  nor  envy,  war  will  cease,  swords 
will  be  beaten  into  ploughshares  and  spears  into  pruning 
hooks,  the  moral  health  of  men  will  exalt  the  sanitary 
condition  of  the  body,  and  human  life  shall  pass  on  into 
the  count  of  centuries.  Not  only  will  dumb  brutes  be 
changed  into  quiet  and  peaceful  beasts  and  cease  to  tear 
and  spoil,  but  the  earth  itself  will  end  its  long  war  against 


^"^r.» 


2"   ^'  ^'^'^THEWmTNG    of    CHRIST 

man,  and,  instead  of  briars  and  thorns,  will  bring  forth 
the  richest  herbs,  the  tenderest  grass  and  fairest  fruits, 
until  the  very  desert  shall  blossom  as  the  rose. 

There  are  those  who  see  striking  evidence  of  the  near 
approach  of  this  happy  time.  They  see  it  in  the  ad- 
vanced civilization  of  the  hour,  in  the  growing  hatred  of 
war,  in  the  frequent  resort  to  National  arbitration,  in  the 
demand  for  righteousness  not  only  in  the  individual  and 
in  society,  but  in  government.  Every  invention  which 
takes  away  the  burden  of  manual  labor,  or  adds  one  hour 
to  human  leisure,  every  advance  in  knowledge,  in  science, 
in  philosophy,  in  art,  indicates  to  them  that  the  spirit  of 
the  Christ,  which  is  the  spirit  of  the  true,  the  good,  the 
beautiful,  is  steadily  gaining  headway.  This  progress,  it 
is  said,  is  marked  and  undeniable.  Each  century  has  found 
us  better  housed,  better  fed,  better  clothed,  better  man- 
nered and  altogether  more  divine,  until  there  are  enthu- 
siastic teachers  and  preachers  who,  rising  superior  to  the 
disturbing  and  stubborn  facts  of  the  times,  fancy  that 
they  already  catch  glimpses  of  the  links  in  the  shining 
chain  with  which  Satan  is  to  be  bound.  Some  tell  us, 
with  no  lack  of  rhetoric  and  emphasis,  that  the  purple 
and  the  gold  of  these  glad  millennial  days  are  on  us  now ; 
and  that  only  the  most  determined  and  fatal  pessimism 
can  hesitate  to  see  the  widening  circle  of  the  Christly 
times,  and  that  but  a  brief  period  of  hurrying  years  re- 
mains before  we  shall  be  in  the  full  glow  and  royal 
splendor  of  the  days  of  Heaven  upon  earth. 

For  a  thousand  years  of  unspeakable  joy,  this  kingdom 
will  endure,  and  then  Christ  will  come  in  person,  there 
will  be  a  general  resurrection,  the  final  judgment,  the 
great  conflagration  and  the  end  of  the  world. 

Those  who  hold  this  view  are  known  familiarly  as 


THE   ISSUE  '3 

Po^f-Millenarians.  They  are  known  as  such  because  they 
postpone,  or  place  the  Coming  of  Christ  after  the  Mil- 
lennium. 

There  are  others,  however,  in  the  Church  of  Christ,  and 
they  form  a  large  and  growing  minority,  comprising 
teachers  and  preachers  of  the  purest  lives,  widest  culture 
and  profoundest  scholarship,  who  believe  that  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  will  come  before  the  Millennium,  indeed, 
that  there  can  be  no  Millennium  till  He  does  come.  They 
do  not  expect  the  world  to  be  converted  by  the  Gospel  and 
peace  brought  in  through  its  instrumentality ;  on  the 
contrary,  they  expect  rather  that  the  world  will  grow 
more  and  more  indifferent  to  that  Gospel;  that  iniquity 
will  abound,  lawlessness  prevail,  and  that  so  far  from 
beating  swords  into  ploughshares,  the  nations  will  turn 
the  ploughshares  into  swords ;  that  nation  shall  rise 
against  nation,  the  spirit  of  war  and  discord  and  feverish 
unrest  pervade  the  whole  earth,  until  the  people  in  their 
agitation  and  commotion  shall  be  heard  like  the  surging 
of  the  seas,  and  that  the  wild  beast  element  in  man  shall 
reveal  itself  in  violence,  in  deeds  of  blood ;  that  the  pro- 
fessing church  will  grow  more  and  more  corrupt  in  doc- 
trine and  worldly  in  practice,  until  the  Son  of  God, 
rejecting  it  as  His  witness  on  the  earth,  shall  spue  it  from 
His  mouth.  Those  who  believe  in  this  fashion  believe 
further,  that  while  knowledge  will  increase  and  many 
run  to  and  fro,  and  science  and  philosophy  will  do  mar- 
vels until  man  shall  seem  like  a  very  God,  yet,  less  and 
less  will  the  restraining  power  of  God's  Spirit  be  felt; 
darker  will  grow  the  hour,  the  earth  will  be  given  over 
to  the  evil  in  man  and  the  loosened  power  of  the  Devil; 
and  that  when  this  combination  of  wickedness  shall  have 
headed  itself  up  in  the  coming  man,  the  Anti-Christ  of 


4  THE    COMING    OF    CHRIST 

Anti-Christs,  then  Christ  the  Lord  will  descend  to  Jeru- 
salem, the  center  of  God's  earthly  dealings,  the  con- 
spiracy of  Satan  will  be  overthrown  and  the  long  looked 
for  Millennium,  the  thousand  years,  the  reign  of  God 
upon  earth  will  begin. 

In  the  nature  of  the  case,  those  who  so  believe  are 
called  Pr^-Millenarians ;  for  they  believe  that  Christ  is 
coming  before  the  Millennium ;  that  His  Advent  is  not  its 
death-knell,  but  its  marriage-bell,  the  sounding  chime  of 
the  angelic  notes : 

"  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  and  on  earth,  peace  to 
men  of  good-will." 

This  then  is  the  issue ! 

Christ  coming  before  or  after  the  Millennium? 

Which  ? 


DOES    IT  MATTER? 


"WE  OUGHT  TO  GIVE  THE  MORE  EARNEST  HEED 
TO  THE  THINGS  WE  HAVE  HEARD,  LEST  AT  ANY 
TIME  WE  SHOULD  LET  THEM  SLIP."— Hebrews  2:1. 


CHAPTER    II 

Does  3[t  90atter? 

Does  it  matter  whether  Christ  shall  come  before  or 
after  the  Millennium?  Is  it  something  wholly  unim- 
portant? Is  it  so  unimportant  that  we  need  spend  but 
little  time  in  its  discussion?  Is  its  discussion  purely  a 
secondary  matter? 

To  admit  this  is  to  admit  that  the  Coming  itself  is 
equally  unimportant.  The  importance  then  of  the  issue 
raised,  whether  the  Coming  of  Christ  is  before  or  after 
the  Millennium,  must  turn  in  the  last  analysis  upon  the 
determination  whether  the  Coming  of  Christ  is  at  all 
important;  and  that  determination  is  to  be  reached  by  a 
consideration  of  the  place  which  the  Second  Coming  of 
our  Lord  holds  in  sacred  Scripture. 

The  moment  we  open  these  Scriptures  we  find  an  an- 
ticipative  picture  of  the  Second  Coming  in  Adam,  exalted 
to  headship,  dominion,  glory  and  power,  as  the  "  figure 
of  Him  who  was  to  come."  Enoch  the  seventh  from 
Adam  prophesies  that  the  Lord  is  coming  in  glory. 
Abraham  catches  glimpses  of  Him  as  the  coming  man 
and  rejoices  in  view  of  His  day.  Jacob  has  a  vision  of 
the  Epiphany  and  splendor  when,  surrounded  by  the  an- 
gelic host,  the  Lord  God  looks  down  from  the  height  of 
the  golden  ladder.  Moses  sees  that  revelation  of  Him  in 
the  burning  bush,  not  as  the  weak  and  crucified,  but  as 
Yaveh,  the  Coming  One,  coming  in  triumph.  The  Psalms 
are  full  of  the  one  utterance,  uttering  His  coming  and 
portraying  the  movement  in  Heaven  when  the  whole  uni- 
verse shall  be  attuned  in  rhythm  to  the  music  of  His 

7 


S  -       THE   COMING    OF    CHRIST 

Kingly  descent.  Isaiah  spells  it  out  in  the  notes  of 
seraphic  splendor  and  in  the  announcement  of  earth's 
response  from  exalted  mountain,  shivering  earth  and 
tossing  seas.  Jeremiah  depicts  the  moment  when  at  His 
Coming  Jerusalem  shall  no  longer  be  as  the  forsaken  who 
binds  her  hair  with  the  braid  of  widowhood,  but  as  Jeru- 
salem the  holy,  Jerusalem  whose  name  shall  be  the  Lord 
our  Righteousness,  and  unto  whom  shall  be  gathered  the 
nations,  as  unto  the  throne  of  the  Lord.  Ezekiel  beholds 
Him  coming  in  the  chariots  of  cherubic  glory.  Daniel 
sets  Him  forth  in  the  center  of  ten  thousand  times  ten 
thousands  of  shining  angels,  coming  to  take  unto  Him- 
self the  crowns  of  all  the  kings  of  all  the  earth,  as  King 
of  kings  and  Lord  of  lords.  The  minor  prophets  on  every 
page  proclaim  that  He  is  coming.  Hosea  declares  it  in 
language  of  rebuke  to  the  people  who  have  denied  Him, 
Joel  in  speech  that  makes  the  tongue  to  burn  and  the  ears 
to  tingle,  while  Habakkuk  rises  to  the  heights  of  sub- 
limity in  a  diction  unequalled,  as  he  testifies  of  the  God 
who  shall  come  from  Teman  and  the  Holy  One  who  shall 
cover  the  Heavens  with  His  glory,  who  shall  fill  the  earth 
with  His  praise,  before  whose  feet  shall  go  the  pestilence 
and  burning  coals,  who  shall  stand  and  measure  the  earth, 
drive  asunder  the  nations,  scatter  the  everlasting  moun- 
tains, receive  the  homage  of  the  perpetual  hills  as  they 
bow  before  Him  and  acknowledge  that  His  ways  are  ever- 
lasting, and  who  shall  fill  the  earth,  the  whole  earth,  with 
the  glory  of  His  presence.  The  last  utterance  of  the  Old 
Testament,  as  it  is  of  the  New,  is,  that  He  is  Coming. 

When  you  open  the  New  Testament  you  already  hear 
sounds  of  the  Second  Advent  before  you  hear  the  echoes 
of  the  first.  John  the  Baptist  talks  of  the  second  Coming, 
not  of  the  first.    The  Son  of  God  Himself  is  taken  up. 


DOES  IT  MATTER?  9 

not  with  His  first  Coming,  but  the  second.  In  parable 
and  exhortation,  before  His  disciples,  before  the  multi- 
tude and  when  arraigned  before  His  judges,  He  talks  of 
His  coming  again.  On  the  eve  of  His  departure  from 
this  world.  He  comforts  His  disciples  with  the  thought 
that  He  is  coming  again  to  receive  them  unto  Himself. 
No  sooner  has  He  gone  out  of  sight  into  Heaven,  than 
two  angels  come  down  with  swift  descent  and  hurrying 
speech  to  tell  the  disciples  as  they  gaze  heavenward  that 
this  same  Jesus  shall  come  again.  On  the  day  of  Pente- 
cost Peter  finds  the  emphasis  of  His  power  in  the  decla- 
ration that  this  Jesus  who  has  been  crucified,  dead,  buried, 
raised  again,  and  ascended  to  the  throne  of  the  Highest, 
is  coming  from  thence  in  the  plenitude  of  His  Kingly 
power.  Stephen  the  martyr  sees  Heaven  opened  and 
Jesus  standing  at  the  right  hand  of  the  glory  in  the  atti- 
tude of  one  who  is  about  to  come  forth  and  visit  the  earth 
once  more.  In  writing  his  epistles  to  the  Thessalonians 
the  Apostle  Paul  closes  each  chapter  of  both  epistles  with 
the  declaration  that  the  Lord,  even  the  Son  of  God,  is 
coming  again.  Peter  and  James  and  John  join  in  the 
universal  testimony ;  Peter,  that  the  appearing  and  glory 
of  the  Lord  is  the  longing  of  his  heart,  James,  that  He 
who  is  the  Judge  already  standeth  at  the  door,  and  John, 
the  Beloved,  that  the  very  hope  of  that  Coming  so  exer- 
cises his  heart  that  he,  as  all  who  look  for  Him,  purifieth 
himself,  even  as  He  is  pure.  Nay !  so  full  is  the  Apostle 
John  of  this  fact  of  the  Coming,  that  he  devotes  one 
whole  book  of  twenty-two  chapters  to  the  description  of 
it.  Between  portrayals  of  the  most  solemn  import,  he 
represents  the  Lord  Himself,  from  time  to  time,  crying 
down  from  Heaven  to  the  listening  ears :  "  Behold  I  am 
coming  quickly ;  "  and  the  last  utterance  from  the  unseen 


10  THE   COMING   OF   CHRIST 

Holy,  from  the  lips  of  the  Son  of  God  Himself,  is  the 
masterful  assurance  that  He  is  coming,  surely  coming. 

In  short,  the  Second  Coming  is  mentioned  from  one 
end  of  the  Bible  to  the  other,  in  type  and  figure,  in  form 
and  symbol,  in  open  prophecy  and  allusive  utterance,  in 
exhortation  and  discourse.  Examination  will  show  that 
it  is  mentioned  in  connection  with  every  fundamental 
doctrine;  with  the  resurrection  from  among  the  dead, 
the  sonship  of  believers,  the  recognition  of  the  departed 
and  the  distribution  of  rewards.  It  is  bound  up  with 
every  sublime  promise;  with  the  promise  of  likeness  to 
Christ,  satisfaction  of  soul,  victory  over  death,  victory 
over  sin  and  Satan,  and  deliverance  of  the  earth  from  the 
bondage  of  corruption.  It  is  bound  up  with  every  prac- 
tical exhortation.  Does  the  Apostle  exhort  us  to  meet 
together  on  the  Lord's  day  and  not  to  forsake  by  any 
means  the  assembling  of  ourselves  together  ?  He  does  so 
in  view  of  the  Coming  of  the  Lord.  He  bids  us  break 
bread  because  we  do  show  forth  the  Lord's  death  till  He 
comes.  We  are  exhorted  to  love  God,  to  love  one  another, 
to  patience,  to  a  holy  life,  to  watchfulness,  to  Christian 
activity,  to  moderation,  to  abiding  in  Him,  against  judg- 
ing one  another,  to  steadfastness,  to  pastoral  fidelity,  to 
faithfulness  in  preaching,  because  He  is  coming.  In  fact, 
this  Coming  is  declared  to  be  the  central  chord  of  all 
vital  Christian  life;  and  it  is  vibrated  and  touched  again 
and  again  by  exhortation  and  illustration  as  the  exalted 
incentive  and  unfailing  impulse.  It  is  said  to  be  spoken 
of  in  one  way  or  another  in  at  least  every  twenty  verses 
of  the  New  Testament,  and  is  thus  above  and  beyond  any 
other  fact  or  doctrine  of  Scripture,  pre-eminently  pre- 
dominant. 

To  admit,  as  it  must  be  admitted,  that  the  Second 


DOES  IT  MATTER?  ii 

Coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  has  such  a  pre-eminence 
in  Holy  Scripture,  that  as  to  statement  it  easily  outranks 
any  other  subject  in  the  whole  scale  and  scheme  of  reve- 
lation, and  then  to  say  that  it  is  a  matter  wholly  unim- 
portant and  ought  not  to  engage  the  serious  attention  of 
the  devout  student  of  the  Word,  is  to  be  guilty  of  the  most 
limitless  illogic. 

If,  on  the  contrary,  the  very  prominence  of  the  theme 
classifies  it  as  of  supreme  importance,  then  the  deter- 
mination of  its  nearness  or  remoteness  is  a  matter  of 
equal  import. 

How  far  this  nearness  or  remoteness  is  important  may 
be  seen  in  the  effect  produced  by  either  conclusion  upon 
their  respective  advocates. 

It  is  clear  enough  that  if  the  Coming  of  Christ  cannot 
possibly  take  place  till  a  thousand  years  after  the  world's 
conversion,  then  the  event  as  a  practical  fact  in  the 
present  life  of  the  Christian  is  of  little  avail  and  cannot 
arouse  him,  either  to  interest,  or  enthusiasm ;  certainly  it 
will  not  be  a  governing  factor  in  his  daily  life,  he  will  not 
feel  himself  under  obligation  to  say  much  about  it;  and 
if  a  preacher,  it  will  occupy  but  a  very  small  place 
in  his  conversation,  his  preaching,  or  in  his  teaching. 
However  wonderful  and  glorious  it  may  be  considered  in 
itself  as  the  display  of  the  person  and  glory  of  the  Son 
of  God ;  however  much  it  may  be  the  justification  and 
emphasis  of  all  His  previous  claims,  it  is  altogether  too 
far  in  the  background  of  the  picture  to  centralize  our 
attention  or  move  us  beyond  the  general  acceptation  of 
the  fact. 

If,  on  the  contrary,  the  Lord  is  coming  before  the 
Millennium ;  if  His  continued  absence  means  the  deepen- 
ing of  the  spiritual  night  arpund  us;  if  the  gloom  can 


12  THE   COMING    OF    CHRIST 

be  dissipated  only  by  His  Coming;  if  it  be  at  all  possible 
to  hasten  that  Coming  and  drive  away  that  night ;  if  noth- 
ing in  the  way  of  predicted  events  has  been  actually 
placed  between  us  and  that  Coming ;  if  the  Lord  has  com- 
manded us  to  look,  to  watch  and  be  ready  in  any  hour  for 
Himself;  if  it  is  true  that  we  might  meet  Him  at  any  time 
in  any  turn  of  the  road  and  hear  His  voice  in  the  midst  of 
daily  duties  done  or  undone,  then  that  Coming  is  of  pre- 
eminent interest,  its  relation  to  the  circumstances  and 
events  of  the  present  hour  are  such  that  no  Christian 
can  dare,  even  for  a  moment,  to  be  indifferent  to  it.  If 
it  means  the  end  of  war  and  the  reign  of  peace,  then  I 
ought  to  pray  for  it  ere  contending  armies  shall  break 
and  shatter  into  bloody  war.  If  it  means  my  deliverance 
from  the  grave,  my  translation  into  immortality,  glad 
meeting  and  fellowship  with  those  who  have  passed 
through  the  silent  gates,  then  I  ought  to  be  on  the 
tip-toe  of  expectation  and  desire  for  it.  If  this 
Coming  is  to  be  without  warning,  then  I  have  no  time 
to  spend  in  idle  pleasure  and  careless  indifference,  not 
only  because  of  my  own  soul  and  individual  things  at 
stake,  but  because  of  my  fellow  being  who  has  no  life  of 
God  and  Christ  in  his  soul ;  for  his  sake,  surely,  I  ought 
to  be  up  and  doing,  and  crying  in  his  ears  the  invitation 
of  the  Gospel  of  peace,  warning  him  that  he  has  no  time 
to  waste,  that  any  moment  the  door  of  grace  may  be  shut 
and  the  door  of  judgment  swing  open  on  its  brazen 
hinges. 

If  Post-Millennialism  is  true,  then  Christ's  visible 
presence  on  this  earth  is  shut  out  by  the  dimness  and 
distance  of  uncounted  centuries. 

If  Pre-Millennialism  is  true,  then  Christ  as  a  living  and 
visible   presence   is   just   upon   the   horizon,    and   every 


DOES  IT   MATTER?  13 

closing  day  or  breaking  morn  may  see  His  face  and 
answer  to  His  call. 

Post-Millennialism  seeks  to  make  the  world  better,  to 
purify  society,  to  set  up  the  kingdom  while  the  King  is 
away,  to  transform  the  King,  Himself,  into  an  invisible, 
ethereal,  spiritual  presence,  giving  Him  a  brid«  in  out- 
ward glory  and  splendor,  but  never  allowing  that  bride 
during  all  the  while  of  her  association  with  Him  in  His 
universal  reign,  to  catch  one  glimpse  of  the  Bridegroom's 
face  or  behold  the  outline  of  a  kingly  form. 

Pre-Millennialism  seeks  to  call  out  of  the  world  a  bride 
for  the  absent  and  rejected  King,  and  continually  whis- 
pers to  this  bride  that  her  joy  is  not  to  reign  while  He  is 
absent,  but  to  suffer ;  not  to  live  gloriously  with  the  kings 
of  the  earth  as  a  wanton  wife  in  the*  absence  of  her  hus- 
band, but  in  separation  and  in  the  path  of  pilgrimage; 
and  that  her  joy  of  joys  will  be,  not  to  love  an  imseen 
Lord  but  to  be  presented  to  Him,  to  gaze  upon  His  face, 
to  bathe  in  His  glory,  to  revel  in  His  light,  and  with  Him, 
to  rule  and  reign  in  manifested  splendor,  in  open  triumph. 

The  Post-Millennialist  looks  upon  this  hour  as  the  time 
of  victory  for  God. 

The  Pre-Millennialist  looks  upon  it  as  the  hour  in 
which  the  darkness  in  man  and  the  evil  in  Satan  are 
holding  high  carnival. 

Those  who  believe  that  the  Millennium  must  prevail 
before  Christ  will  come,  take  all  the  promises  of  the  Old 
Testament,  all  the  predictions  concerning  Israel  and 
Mount  Zion  for  the  last  days,  and  hand  them  bodily  and 
boldly  over  to  the  Church.  They  style  the  Church  Mount 
Zion  and  look  upon  the  Christian  as  the  logical  evolution 
of  the  Jew,  religiously. 

Those  who  expect  the  Son  of  God  before  the  Mil- 


14  THE    COMING    OF    CHRIST 

lennium,  who  anticipate  judgment  before  glory,  take  all 
the  predictions  of  the  latter  times  and  give  them  to  Israel. 
To  them  Mount  Zion,  Jerusalem,  no  more  mean  the 
Church  than  earth  can  stand  for  Heaven,  or  Abraham, 
the  Patriarch,  be  confounded  with  Michael,  the  Arch- 
angel. To  them  the  Jew  and  the  Gentile  are  as  far  apart 
in  the  dealings  of  God  and  the  blessings  which  shall  come 
to  each  from  His  hand,  as  the  throne  of  God  is  distinct 
from  His  footstool. 

The  Post-Millennialist  calls  the  Church  the  Kingdom. 

The  Pre-Millenarian  feels  that  the  nomenclature  of  the 
Church  as  seen  in  the  title  role  of  its  office  bearers  for- 
bids such  transmutation ;  it  is  impossible  for  him,  even 
with  the  most  liberal  allowance  for  spiritualizing,  to  make 
a  Deacon  into  a  Duke,  or  an  Elder  into  an  Earl;  while 
pastors  and  evangelists,  to  him,  seem  utterly  out  of  place 
as  functionaries  in  a  system  of  royalty. 

In  order  to  find  ground  for  the  doctrine  that  the  Mil- 
lennium must  precede  the  Second  Coming,  the  Post-Mil- 
lennialist is  forced  to  set  aside,  or  ignore  the  pessimistic 
statements  of  the  Apostles  concerning  the  last  times. 

In  order  ^o  sustain  the  opposite  thesis  the  Pre-Mil- 
lenarian draws  special  attention  and  gives  particular 
emphasis  to  those  very  statements. 

It  must  be  evident,  therefore,  to  the  most  casual  reader, 
that  these  two  views  are  diametrically  opposed,  and  that 
they  affect,  not  only  the  attitude  of  the  Church  in  relation 
to  the  Coming — the  one  setting  aside  that  Coming  as  an 
imminent  factor,  the  other  exalting  it  as  such — ^but  it 
affects  the  whole  exegesis  of  the  Word  of  God.  Indeed, 
it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  results  of  interpretation 
flowing  out  of  each  of  these  distinct  lines  of  thought  are 
so  radically  antagonistic,  so  utterly  diverse,  so  absolutely 


DOES  IT  MATTERf  15 

irreconcilable,  that  one  or  the  other  must  be  wholly  right, 
exact,  scientifically  correct,  and  the  other  as  absolutely 
false,  ignorant  or  blunderingly  perverse. 

If  the  Bible,  upon  any  fair  and  unprejudiced  examina- 
tion, permits  with  equal  facility  the  deduction  of  either  of 
these  views,  then  the  impression  upon  the  outside  observer 
must  sooner  or  later  be  that  this  Book,  instead  of  being  a 
clear  and  infallible  guide  to  the  earnest  seeker  after  truth, 
is,  at  the  best,  but  a  contradictory  and  confusing  tran- 
script. 

In  the  face  of  this  ultimate,  or  the  alternate  impression ; 
in  view  of  the  contradictory  moral  attitude  brought  about 
by  one  or  the  other  of  the  doctrines ;  because  of  the  an- 
tagonistic interpretation,  and  consequent  publication  to 
the  Church  and  the  world  which  such  interpretation  de- 
mands, is  it  at  all  tolerable  to  say  that  the  issue  between 
Pre-Millennialism  and  Post-Millennialism  is  unimpor- 
tant? 

I  trow  not! 

Nay!  Above  everything  else,  the  simple  fact  that  the 
Son  of  God  has  announced  to  His  Church  that  He  is 
coming  back,  makes  it  a  bounden  duty  that  I  should  know 
whether  that  Coming  is  possible  in  my  day,  or  not  till  ten 
centuries  have  broken  into  dust  beneath  the  tread  of  time. 

It  is  highly  important  that  I  should  know  it. 

Aye!  And  I  must  make  every  effort  to  know  it  if  it 
can  be  known! 


CAN  THE  TRUTH  BE  KNOWN? 


"  THAT  WHICH  MAY  BE  KNOWN  OF  GOD  IS  MANI- 
FEST TO  THEM:  FOR  GOD  HAS  SHEWED  IT  UNTO 
THEM."— Romans  1:19. 


CHAPTER   III 

Can  tfie  Ctutfi  fie  JKnoton? 

Admitting  then  the  importance  of  the  issue,  whether 
Christ  will  come  before  or  after  the  Millennium,  the  fur- 
ther question  arises,  Can  the  truth  be  known?  Is  it  pos- 
sible or  impossible?  Is  it  simply  a  matter  of  interpreta- 
tion, an  interpretation  to  be  decided  by  the  keenness  of 
intellect,  the  versatility  of  individual  genius,  or  the 
weight  of  majorities?  Is  there  no  clear,  definite,  precise 
standard,  no  positive  "  thus  saith  the  Lord  "  which  may 
not  be  turned  and  twisted  as  a  nose  of  wax,  no  absolute 
rule  by  which  we  may  be  guided  without  error,  fault  or 
mistake?  Must  we  confess  that  the  whole  doctrine  is  a 
subject  with  which  to  play  skittles,  and  that  no  final  and 
imperial  decision  can  be  reached  ? 

To  take  such  a  position  in  respect  to  the  Second  Coming 
of  Christ,  and  that,  too,  in  face  of  the  prominence  it  ob- 
tains in  the  Book,  the  intimate  relation  it  sustains  to  the 
profoundest  doctrines  and  most  searching  exhortations  to 
duty  and  responsibility;  to  take  such  a  position,  is  not 
only  to  strike  a  blow  at  the  Coming  itself,  but  at  the  very 
claim  of  the  Book  to  be  a  full  and  accurate  revelation 
from  the  God  of  certainty  and  truth.     The  conclusions 
inevitable  from  such  a  position  are  so  far  reaching,  their  ^ 
import  to  us  as  Christians  so  destructive  to  all  final  faith  • 
in  the  God  and  Christ  of  the  Bible,  that  it  is  impossible' 
to  accept  that  proposition,  even,  for  a  moment. 

I  have  a  reverent  faith  in  the  unity,  harmony  and  clear- 
ness of  this  Book.  I  believe  that  it  is  inspired  of  God.  I 
believe  God  has  spoken  not  only  His  thoughts  but  His 

19 


20  THE   COMING    OF   CHRIST 

words,  and  that  we  have  under  our  eye  the  very  accents 
in  which  He  has  seen  fit  to  communicate  His  mind  and 
will  to  us. 

In  this  hour  when  in  the  name  of  a  pretentious  science 
and  a  vaunted  analysis  men  are  seeking  to  pull  apart  and 
throw  discredit  on  the  Word,  demonstrating  openly  and 
more  often  in  covert  fashion  that  it  is  the  word  of  man 
and  not  as  Paul  affirms  it  to  be,  the  Word  of  God,  it  be- 
hooves every  earnest  seeker  after  the  truth  to  give  the 
Book  the  opportunity  to  make  itself  known,  by  listening 
first  of  all  to  what  it  says,  discrediting  firmly  every 
hypothesis,  imagination,  and  concept  of  man,  till  it  has 
said  its  say.  What  does  the  Book  say,  not  what  we  think 
it  says,  is  the  first  and  all  important  step  to  ascertain  what 
meaning  it  wishes  to  convey. 

Our  Lord  has  rested  His  claim  to  Messiahship,  to 
divinity,  to  Lordship,  to  the  whole  integrity  of  His  name 
and  mission  on  an  appeal  to  the  Scriptures  of  Israel. 

He  has  said :  "  Search  the  Scriptures."  If  by  His  ex- 
press commandment  we  are  to  search  the  pages  of  the 
Old  Testament  to  find  the  anticipative  testimony  concern- 
ing Himself  on  the  lips  of  prophet,  priest  and  king,  how 
strong  the  obligation  for  us  to  examine  with  equal  fidelity 
what  He  has  said  in  His  own  words,  whether  we  confront 
those  words  which  He  spake  as  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  or 
words  which  He  spake  by  the  Spirit  through  the  mouth 
of  His  accredited  Apostles ! 

I  desire  to  do  this  now. 

I  shall  inquire, 

I.  What  does  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  Himself  declare 
in  His  own  words  concerning  the  manner  in  which  the 
Gospel  is  to  be  received  during  His  absence? 


CAN   THE    TRUTH   BE   KNOWN?  21 

2.  What  picture  does  He  give  us  of  the  course  of  the 
professing  Church  in  this  age? 

3.  What  do  the  Apostles  say  concerning  the  matter? 

4.  What  do  Christ  and  His  disciples  teach  as  to  the 
course  and  character  of  this  age  ? 

5.  What  do  Christ  and  His  disciples  say  about  the 
introduction  of  the  kingdom?  What  is  the  initial  power 
and  factor  that  shall  make  it  manifest  ?  Is  it  the  Gospel, 
is  it  by  increasing  triumph  of  the  principles  of  peace  and 
good  will,  or  is  it  by  steady  degeneration  and  the  Coming 
of  the  Lord  personally  to  act  in  judgment?  What  do  the 
Scriptures  say  positively,  unequivocally,  on  one  or  other 
of  these  issues  ? 

6.  What  attitude  do  the  Scriptures  bid  us  take  in  rela- 
tion to  the  Coming  of  Christ?  Do  they  tell  us  to  look  for, 
to  be  in  constant  readiness  for  it?  Do  they  forbid  us  to 
set  an  hour,  to  hint  at  dates?  Or  do  they  unhesitatingly 
and  emphatically  teach  us  that  the  Coming  of  Christ  is  a 
matter  with  which  we  are  not  for  the  present,  either  as  a 
church  or  individuals,  to  be  particularly  occupied? 

These  are  the  general  lines  which  will  be  followed  in 
the  earnest  endeavor  to  find  what  the  Scriptures  do  teach 
in  respect  to  this  all  supreme  theme,  the  Coming  of  our 
Lord. 


THE  RATIO  OF  THE  GOSPEL 


"ALL  MEN  HAVE  NOT  FAITH."^  Thessalonians  3:2. 


it 


AND  HE  DID  NOT  MANY  MIGHTY  WORKS  THERE, 
BECAUSE    OF   THEIR    UNBELIEF."— Matthew    13:58. 


CHAPTER   IV 

Cfie  IRatfo  of  tfie  ©ospel 

How  will  the  Gospel  be  received  while  our  Lord  is 
away?  Will  it  be  universal  and  triumphant,  or  partial 
and  relative?  Will  it  break  down  all  opposition,  or  will 
that  opposition  remain  to  the  end? 

Our  Lord  has  answered  the  question. 

He  has  answered  it  in  the  parable  of  the  Sower. 

That  parable  obtains  exceptional  force,  and  demands 
especial  attention,  because  of  the  connection  in  which  it 
is  to  be  found,  together  with  the  fact  that  the  Lord,  Him- 
self, has  given  the  interpretation  and  set  to  it  the  seal  of 
His  own  authority. 

The  parable  occurs  in  the  book  of  Matthew,  the  thir- 
teenth chapter,  and  forms  the  first  in  a  series  of  seven. 
Each  of  these  parables  is  a  link  in  a  connected  discourse 
given  by  the  Son  of  God  concerning  the  "  mysteries  of 
the  kingdom  of  Heaven/'  The  object  of  this  discourse 
is  to  set  forth  the  character  and  development  of  the 
present  age  during  His  absence. 

The  parable  in  question  represents  a  sower  going  forth 
to  sow.  Some  seed  falls  by  the  wayside  and  is  plucked 
up  by  the  fowls.  Some  falls  on  stony  ground,  springs  up, 
but  is  soon  scorched  by  the  sun  and  withers  away ;  some 
falls  amid  thorns,  is  choked  and  brings  forth  no  fruit  to 
perfection;  while  some,  falling  on  good,  or  prepared 
ground,  brings  forth  fruit  in  varying  measure. 

According  to  our  Lord  the  seed  represents  the  Word 
of  God,  represents  its  germinal  quality,  its  inhering  vital- 
ity, its  living  power  to  take  root  in  that  heart  willing  to 
receive  it. 

25 


26  THE   COMING   OF   CHRIST 

The  sower  is  any  one  bearing  forth  the  Word  of  life. 

Sowing  is  scattering,  preaching,  or  proclaiming  it  far 
and  near,  in  order  that  it  may  fall  into  the  human  heart 
and  bring  forth  perfect  fruit  to  the  glory  of  God. 

The  time  of  sowing  is  any  time  while  our  Lord  is  away. 

The  number  and  character  of  grounds  upon  which  the 
seed  falls  represent  the  general  ratio  of  reception  and 
the  characteristic  hindrance  during  the  time  of  sowing. 

The  two  points  we  need  to  consider  now  are: 

1.  The  ratio  of  reception. 

2.  The  characteristic  hindrance. 

The  Ratio  of  Reception 

Four  parts  of  ground  were  sowed  over,  but  only  one 
part  out  of  four  received  the  seed  and  brought  forth  fruit 
unto  the  sower.  One  part  out  of  four!  or  that  which  is 
relative,  partial,  fractional.  Four  stands  for  a  whole.  We 
speak  of  the  "  four  points  of  the  compass,"  "  the  four 
corners  of  the  earth,"  and  in  the  nature  of  the  case  the 
four  grounds  of  the  parable  represent  the  whole  earth  as 
the  theatre  of  the  Gospel  sowing  which  is  to  take  place 
during  the  absence  of  the  Lord.  As  the  reception  and 
fruitage  of  the  seed  is  the  reception  and  fruitage  of  the 
Gospel  in  the  world  during  the  whole  period  of  that  ab- 
sence, we  have,  necessarily,  a  forecast  plainly  proclaiming 
that  throughout  the  world  during  that  period  the  recep- 
tion of  the  Gospel  will  be  relative,  partial,  fractional.   * 

While  no  intention  is  here  indicated  of  being  mathe- 
matical and  precise  in  the  exact  number  of  those  who  at 
any  time  in  this  particular  period  shall  receive  the  Gospel, 
it  is,  to  say  the  least,  not  a  little  curious  that  at  this  mo- 
ment of  supposed  Gospel  progress,  not  more  than  a  fourth 
part  of  the  world's  entire  population  make  any  pretense 


THE   RATIO    OF    THE    GOSPEL  27 

to  accept  the  Gospel ;  and  among  those  who  are  thus 
accredited  as  the  receivers  of  the  Word  of  God,  are  the 
so-called  "  Christian "  nations,  in  which  the  vast  bulk 
have  no  saving  knowledge  of  the  Son  of  God. 

Let  any  one  turn  his  gaze  upon  his  own  community 
and  make  an  estimate  of  those  who  officially  confess  the 
name  of  God's  Son  by  church  ordinance  and  relation,  and 
he  will  find  that  they  are  but  a  fractional  portion  of  the 
population.  If  in  addition  to  this  he  will  make  a  rigid 
examination  into  those  whose  conduct  bears  witness  that 
the  Gospel  has  been  enthroned  in  their  life,  he  will  be 
startled,  and,  perhaps  alarmed,  at  the  steadily  diminishing 
ratio  and  become  convinced  that  the  Gospel  has  only  a 
relative  sway  among  men.  He  who  beside  all  this  knows 
that  the  living,  overwhelming  millions  of  his  kind  are  in 
the  earth  today  with  no  fellowship  for  the  Gospel  and  no 
pretended  acknowledgment  of  its  power;  who  sees  that 
Bethlehem  where  Jesus  was  born,  Calvary  where  He  died, 
and  Bethany  from  whence  He  ascended,  are  in  the  hands 
of  the  False  Prophet ;  that  Mahomet  is  revered  where  He 
is  now  scarcely  known,  will  see  little  evidence  of  anything 
like  a  present  universal  triumph  of  the  Gospel.  Indeed,  a 
faithful  reading  of  history  will  show  that  at  no  time  in  the 
past,  even  in  the  loftiest  moment  of  Apostolic  evangeliza- 
tion, when  the  sound  of  the  Gospel  had  gone  throughout 
the  whole  earth,  when  every  ear  under  Heaven  was  said 
to  have  heard,  did  the  whole  world  receive  that  Gospel. 
The  thousands  who  hymned  the  name  of  Jesus,  bowed  the 
knee  and  owned  Him  as  their  God,  were  but  scattered 
sands  upon  the  seashore  of  human  life,  paltry  thousands 
to  the  unconverted  millions  who,  if  ever  they  heard, 
turned  a  deaf  ear  and  went  downward  to  death  and  dark- 
ness with  no  hope  in  God.    At  no  point  in  human  history 


28  THE   COMING   OF   CHRIST 

since  the  Master  left  us  can  we  find  a  single  hour  when 
all  the  earth  received  the  story  of  His  tragic  love,  or  when 
the  good  ground  only  could  be  found  beneath  the  toiling 
sower's  feet.  And  to-day,  if  we  shall  call  the  roll  in 
heathen  lands,  own  the  sacrifice  and  unselfish  devotion  of 
the  sowers  who  still  go  forth  to  sow,  and  verify  the  power 
of  God  in  pagan  temples  overthrown,  in  human  lives  up- 
lifted and  redeemed,  even  to-day,  when  the  last  voice  has 
responded  and  the  last  song  has  died  away,  there  will  be 
heard  the  tramp  of  other  thousands  who  have  never 
heard  or  known  the  way.  As  we  look  steadily  we  shall 
see  from  age  to  age  as  the  sower  passes  on,  he  finds  the 
beaten  wayside,  the  flinty  rock,  the  springing  thorns,  and 
discovers  that  the  good  ground  which  at  the  last  receives 
his  seed,  is  but  a  fractional  part  of  that  wide  world  in 
which  he  was  bid  to  cast  the  germs  of  endless  life. 

This  much  for  the  ratio  of  the  reception.  Let  us  con- 
sider 

The  Ratio  of  Hindrance 

There  are  hindrances  to  the  rooting  and  fruitage  of 
the  seed. 

These  hindrances  are  three  in  number.  The  fowls,  the 
stony  grounds  and  the  thorns. 

The  fowls  snatch  away  that  which  was  sown  upon  the 
wayside.  The  stony  ground  allows  only  the  surface  to 
be  penetrated,  opposes  its  essential  hardness,  its  un- 
changeable character  to  the  seed,  and  permits  no  cleavage, 
not  a  root  to  enter  in;  while  the  thorns  invade  that 
ground  where  the  seed  has  ample  soil  and  smother  and 
choke  out  the  hoped-for  life. 

The  Lord  has  declared  that  the  fowls  set  forth  the 
Wicked  One,  Satan  and  his  untiring  energy  of  destruc- 
tion, and  that  wickedness  and  treason  both  to  God  and 


THE   RATIO    OF   THE   GOSPEL  29 

man  which  would  snatch  out  of  the  cold  or  indifferent 
heart  every  permeating  germ  of  the  divine  and  spiritual 
life. 

The  stony  ground  hearer  is  a  picture  of  that  natural 
stony  heart,  that  ''  stony  heart "  of  which  Ezekiel  the 
prophet  speaks  (chapter  36,  verse  26),  in  which  there 
may  be  sentiment  and  sensibility,  but  not  an  element  of 
the  divine  rootage.  It  is  that  flesh  which,  no  matter  how 
often  it  may  be  helped  and  cleansed,  is  still  the  flesh,  and 
undivine. 

The  thorns  choking  out  the  good  seed  is  that  world 
which,  with  its  riches  and  cares,  its  labor  and  luxury,  is 
no  friend  of  grace  to  help  us  on  to  God. 

The  World,  the  Flesh  and  the  Devil !  A  triumvirate  of 
opposition  to  the  Word  of  God,  to  the  Gospel  of  grace. 

And  what  page  of  history  does  not  bear  the  record  of 
their  opposition?  What  age  in  which  they  have  not  re- 
sisted and  rendered  fruitless  much  of  the  sower's  toil? 
Who  will  deny  that  these  enemies  are  at  work  to-day  with 
all  the  energy  sufficient  to  hinder  and  frustrate  a  wide- 
spread harvest  to  the  sower's  hand  ? 

Nor  does  the  parable  hold  out  any  horizon  on  which 
the  lurid  gleam  of  this  opposition  does  not  play,  now  and 
then  lifting  a  forked  tongue  as  if  from  a  serpent's  mouth. 
The  sower's  course,  it  is  true,  brings  him  at  last  to  good 
and  receptive  ground,  but  all  about  him  the  three-fold 
resisting  forces  hem  in  and  make  manifest  that  his  victory 
is  but  partial,  relative  and  fractional  to  the  end. 

This  parable  then  teaches  not  only  that  there  would 
not  be  a  universal  reception  of  the  Gospel  while  our  Lord 
was  away,  but  that  during  the  whole  time  of  His  absence 
it  would  be  met  and  hindered  by  a  trinity  of  evil ;  that 
while  the  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Spirit  would  seek  to  send 


30  THE   COMING   OF   CHRIST 

forth  this  Gospel  gladness,  this  trinity  of  evil,  the  world, 
the  flesh  and  the  Devil,  with  unceasing  and  mysterious 
unity,  would  oppose  and  hinder  to  the  last. 

A  not  universal  reception! 

An  unbroken  opposition  to  the  end! 

These  two  great  prophecies  the  parable  makes,  and 
makes  them  through  the  mouth  of  Him  who  is  the  Truth. 

And  thus  this  parable  is,  in  itself,  the  death  knell  to 
the  hope  of  any  millennium  through  the  preaching  of  the 
Gospel. 


THE  COURSE  OF  THE   PROFESSING 
CHURCH    IN   THIS   AGE 

(The  Testimony  of  Christ.) 


"I    HAVE    SOMEWHAT    AGAINST    THEE,    BECAUSE 
THOU  HAST  LEFT  THY  FIRST  LOVE."— Revelation  2:4. 


CHAPTER   V 

Cfie  Course  of  tfie  professing  Cfiurcfi  in 

ttis  age 

(The  Testimony  of  Christ.) 

The  Church  has  been  left  in  this  world  as  the  Sower, 
the  Seed-bearer,  the  Light,  the  Witness  to  the  Truth,  the 
Reincarnation  of  Christ,  the  Temple  of  God,  the  Habita- 
tion of  God  through  the  Spirit. 

Its  work  is  to  build  a  new  man,  to  develop  a  new  and 
spiritual  humanity,  to  illuminate  the  world's  darkness 
with  Heaven's  morning,  and  answer  definitely  the  con- 
tinual crying,  "  What  is  truth  ?  "  by  revealing  Christ  ob- 
jectively, the  "  Man  in  the  glory,"  as  the  enthronement  of 
the  Father,  and  subjectively,  in  the  soul  of  the  believer — 
a  new  divine  man — as  the  image  of  the  Father. 

This  was  the  concept ! 

What  was  to  be  its  realization?  Would  the  Church 
fulfill  these  great  lines  and  march  on  in  unbroken  tri- 
umph over  sin  and  wrong  till  the  Lord  should  return  to 
receive  from  her  hands  a  world  conquered  in  His  name? 
or  would  there  be  failure  and  marring  just  as  everything, 
man  has  touched  has  failed  and  been  marred,  even,  when 
fresh  from  the  hands  of  God  ? 

The  great  Teacher  responds  unequivocally. 

He  responds  in  the  second  parable  of  this  thirteenth 
chapter  of  Matthew. 

As  in  the  parable  of  the  Sower,  so  here  He  furnishes 
His  own  interpretation. 

The  parable  itself  is  stated  in  verses  24  to  30,  the 
explanation,  verses  37  to  44. 

33 


34  THE  COMING  OP  CHRIST 

A  man  sows  good  seed  in  his  field.  While  men  sleep 
an  enemy  comes  and  sows  tares  among  the  wheat,  then 
goes  his  way.  When  the  wheat  appears  the  tares  appear 
also.  The  servants  come  to  the  householder  and  ask  him 
whence  they  are.  He  answers  that  an  enemy  has  done 
it,  forbids  them  to  root  out  the  tares  lest,  looking  so  much 
like  the  wheat,  they  root  out  the  wheat  also.  He  com- 
mands them  to  let  both  grow  together  till  the  harvest.  He 
assures  his  servants  that  in  the  time  of  the  harvest  he  will 
send  forth  his  reapers  and  they  shall  gather  together  the 
tares  into  bundles  to  burn  them,  but  the  wheat  shall  be 
gathered  into  the  barn. 

In  His  interpretation  our  Lord  declares  that  the  Sower 
is  the  Son  of  Man,  the  field  is  the  world,  the  good  seed  the 
children  of  the  kingdom,  the  tares  the  children  of  the 
Devil,  the  enemy  who  sowed  them  the  Devil  himself. 
The  harvest  is  the  end  of  the  world,  the  reapers  are  the 
angels,  the  gathering,  binding  of  the  tares  and  the  casting 
of  them  into  the  fire,  is  the  burning  of  all  who  are  the 
children  of  the  Devil.  The  gathering  of  the  wheat  into 
the  barn  is  the  shining  forth  of  the  righteous  in  the 
kingdom  of  the  Father. 
,     In  the  analysis  of  this  parable  we  are  to  note : 

1.  The  Householder,  the  Sower,  is  the  Son  of  Man, 
the  Christ  of  God. 

2.  The  servants  are  His  witnesses,  the  members  of 
His  household,  working  for,  bearing  witness  to,  and 
making  profession  in  His  Name. 

3.  The  field  is  the  world. 

4.  The  good  seed  are  the  children  of  the  kingdom,  the 
fruit  of  that  seed  which  was  sown  in  the  good  ground 
of  the  first  parable,  the  result  of  that  preaching  where  the 
Word  enters  into  the  heart. 


COURSE  OF  PROFESSING  CHURCH        35 

5.  The  sleep  of  the  servants  is  the  unwatchfulness  of 
the  servants  of  Christ. 

6.  The  enemy  taking  advantage  of  the  carelessness  of 
the  servants  is  the  Devil,  the  Wicked  One  of  the  parable 
of  the  Sower. 

7.  The  tares  introduced  into  the  field  in  proximity  to 
the  wheat  are  the  children  of  the  Devil. 

The  tare,  or  darnel,  or  cheat,  is  a  weed  resembling 
wheat.  It  cannot  be  fully  discerned  till  the  harvest,  then 
it  is  seen  to  be  spurious  and  not  of  the  same  root  as  the 
wheat.  As  the  wheat  represents  the  children  of  the  king- 
dom and  is  the  result  of  the  divine  seed,  so  the  tares  rep- 
resent an  imitation  of  the  children  of  the  kingdom,  those 
who  have  an  outward  decency  and  morality,  perhaps,  but 
who  are  the  result,  not  of  the  Word  of  God,  but  the  word, 
the  doctrine  and  propaganda  of  the  Devil ;  hence,  in  the 
tares  we  get  a  profession  of  Christ,  false  in  doctrine,  not 
rooted  in  the  divine  truth,  nor  in  the  divine  life ;  a  profes- 
sion of  Christ  that  will  not  stand  the  test  of  the  Word,  the 
Blood  or  the  Spirit.  It  is  a  corrupt  profession  of  Christ, 
not  owned  of  God.  And  it  is  to  be  noted  that  the  illumi- 
nation of  the  parable  is  in  that  thought  of  corruption,  and 
marks  the  complete  change  in  the  Devil's  method ;  for,  in 
the  first  parable,  he  sought  to  destroy  the  seed,  now  he 
seeks  to  mix  the  false  with  the  true,  weaken,  hinder,  adul- 
terate and,  if  possible,  root  out  the  true. 

Remember  then  that  in  the  parable  of  the  wheat  and 
the  tares,  whatever  else  we  get,  we  do  get  a  corruption  of 
professed  Christianity. 

8.  The  harvest  is  the  end  of  the  world  {age),  it  is 
the  closing  moment  of  this  dispensation  of  grace. 

9.  The  wheat  and  the  tares  growing  side  by  side  in 
the  field  till  the  end  of  the  harvest  is  this  corrupt  pro- 


36  THE   COMING    OF   CHRIST 

fession    of    Christ    continuing-    so    till    the    end    of   the 


age. 


10.  The  separation  of  the  wheat  and  the  tares  by  the 
hand  of  the  reapers  is  the  execution  of  judgment  on  the 
ungodly  by  the  hand  of  the  angels  at  the  end  of  this 
period ;  but  it  is  to  be  noted  that  the  angels  come  from 
the  presence  of  the  Lord  as  from  the  presence  of  the 
Son  of  man,  that  this  title  is  in  use  only  when  He  is  seen 
as  the  executor  of  judgment,  and  as  He  will  execute 
judgment  for  the  first  time  at  His  Second  Coming,  then 
the  statement  as  to  the  angels  is  only  another  way  of 
saying  that  He  is  coming  a  second  time,  and  that  when 
He  does  so  come  He  will  find,  not  a  world  united  in  faith 
and  hope  before  Him,  but  a  world  containing  a  mixed 
profession  of  Christianity,  a  field  occupied  by  the  children 
of  God  and  the  children  of  the  Devil. 

Whatever  else  then  this  parable  may  teach  it  does  teach, 
and  that  unequivocally,  that  when  the  Lord  comes  He 
will  find  a  corrupt,  impure  profession  in  His  name;  that 
this  profession  will  require  His  judgment  to  separate  the 
false  from  the  true,  the  precious  from  the  vile. 

What  the  Son  of  God  teaches  here  He  increasingly 
emphasizes  in  the  parable  of  the  Mustard  Tree. 

A  mustard  tree  is  the  smallest  of  things  in  the  begin- 
ning. 

A  man  takes  a  mustard  seed,  the  smallest  of  all  seeds, 
and  sows  it  in  his  field. 

It  becomes  a  great  tree,  so  great  that  birds  of  the  air 
find  shelter  therein. 

Three  things  are  to  be  noted  in  this  parable : 

1.  The  insignificant  origin. 

2.  The  great  expansion. 

3.  The  shelter  afforded  the  birds  of  the  air. 


COURSE  OF  PROFESSING  CHURCH       37 

1.  As  the  mustard  seed  is  intended  to  set  forth  the 
kingdom  of  Heaven  in  this  world,  and  that  kingdom  of 
Heaven  is  the  profession  of  Christ,  and  that  profession 
is  known  outwardly  as  the  church  of  Christ,  then  in  the 
insignificant  origin  of  the  tree,  in  the  small  seed,  the 
"  smallest  of  all  seeds,"  we  have  the  small,  the  insignifi- 
cant beginning  of  the  professed  church  of  Christ. 

And  indeed  nothing  could  have  been  more  insignificant 
or  apparently  less  likely  to  affect  the  world  than  that 
church  of  Christ  which  at  the  beginning  was  made  up  of 
the  poor  and  the  outcast,  and  whose  special  claim  to  dis- 
tinction was  that  they  believed  in  and  worshipped  as  God 
the  man  who  had  been  hung  to  death  as  a  malefactor  on  a 
Roman  cross  between  two  brutal  and  offensive  thieves. 
Nothing  seemed  less  likely  to  win  its  way  in  the  world 
than  the  story  that  this  crucified  and  dead  peasant  had 
been  raised  from  His  borrowed  grave,  and  exalted  to  the 
right  hand  of  the  majesty  on  high,  and  owned  there  as 
very  God. 

One  hundred  and  twenty  men  and  women,  all  told,  was 
a  singularly  insignificant  and  insufficient  number  with 
which  to  face  a  hostile  world  in  the  hope  of  converting 
it  and  revolutionizing  it  for  God. 

2.  The  expansion  of  this  tree  is  the  expansion  of  the 
feeble  and  insignificant  profession  of  Christ. 

Just  as  that  tree  grew,  threw  its  branches  outward,  up- 
ward, and  on  every  side,  so  the  profession  of  Christ  soon 
filled  the  world,  throwing  out  a  branch  here,  and  another 
there,  until  to-day  these  branches  are  to  be  found  in  every 
part  of  the  habitable  globe.  But  it  must  not  be  forgotten 
that  the  tree  sends  out  its  branches  in  exact  proportion  as 
it  roots  itself  downward  in  the  earth.  Unlike  the  wheat 
which  loosens  at  the  bottom  as  it  ripens  at  the  top,  the 


38  THE   COMING    OF    CHRIST 

mustard  tree  deepens  its  hold  on  the  earth  as  it  expands. 
This  is  a  declaration  that  the  profession  of  Christ  in  the 
world  would,  indeed,  expand  and  fill  the  whole  earth,  but 
that  its  expansion  would  be  in  proportion  to  its  rootage 
in  the  world.  In  short,  the  mustard  tree  is  the  prophetic 
declaration  that  professing  Christianity  would  be  more 
and  more  of  the  earth,  less  and  less  spiritual  and  Heav- 
enly, as  the  age  went  on. 

3.  The  shelter  which  the  tree  affords  to  the  birds  of 
the  air,  is  the  professing  church  giving  shelter  to  him 
whom  these  birds  in  the  first  parable  represent  as  the 
Wicked  One,  even,  the  Devil.  There  can  be  no  doubt  of 
this  intention,  for  the  same  word  is  translated  fowls  in 
the  one,  and  birds  in  the  other  parable.  The  profession 
of  Christ  in  this  world,  the  professing  church  of  Christ, 
becoming  the  shelter,  the  refuge  and  dwelling  place  o.f 
the  Devil  as  well  as  the  Son  of  God,  that  is  the  simple 
English  of  the  parabolic  forecast.  The  church  the  habi- 
tation for  the  enemy  as  well  as  the  Friend  of  souls ! 

He  who  reads  the  history  of  the  professing  church  in 
that  hour  when  it  was  thrusting  its  branches  forth  and 
casting  its  shadow  over  all  the  earth,  will  find  little  diffi- 
culty in  being  persuaded  that  Satan  found  within  it  an 
equal  shelter  with  the  God  whose  name  it  bore.  When  we 
read  of  the  sin  and  iniquity  committed  by  its  authority, 
the  persecution  of  which  it  was  guilty,  the  blood  of  the 
innocent  and  helpless  which  it  shed  in  the  name  of  a  for- 
giving Saviour;  when  we  read  of  its  fiendish  deeds,  how 
it  took  men  and  laid  them  on  racks  and  broke  them  on 
wheels,  boiled  them  alive  in  oil,  put  out  their  eyes,  flayed 
them,  cut  them  to  pieces,  slowly  burned  them  with  fire, 
stopping  not  to  slay  and  torture  helpless  women  and 
children,    establishing    the    Inquisition    and    calling    it 


COURSE  OF  PROFESSING  CHURCH       39 

"  holy  " ;  he  who  will  read  all  this  may  well  believe  that  it 
had  become  the  hold  of  every  foul  spirit  and  a  cage  of 
every  unclean  and  hateful  "bird."  Revelation  18:2.  He 
who  will  turn  away  from  the  doctrinal  controversies  of 
the  early  church,  when  for  the  sake  of  the  difference  of  a 
letter  in  a  word  whole  communities  were  arrayed  against 
^each  other,  and  brother  slew  brother  in  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ  upon  the  church  steps,  and  made  the  very  altars 
to  run  with  blood ;  he  who  will  turn  away  from  the 
paganism  of  the  Romish  church  and  the  midnight  black- 
ness of  spiritual  ignorance  with  which  she  filled  the  earth 
in  the  middle  ages,  to  our  own  times,  and  read  the  infi- 
delity in  the  professing  Protestant  church,  read  the  utter- 
ances of  representative  men  and  teachers  in  her  com- 
munion who  deny  the  Incarnation,  repudiate  vicarious 
sacrifice,  make  light  of  the  story  of  the  resurrection  and 
refine  the  risen  Son  of  God  into  nothing  more  than  the 
spirit  and  essence  of  truth,  or,  at  most,  the  disembodied 
ghost  of  a  man  who  called  himself  a  Messiah,  mis- 
taken in  his  claims,  hut  authoritative  in  his  morals;  he 
who  will  read  the  works  of  modern  professors  of  theology 
who  convict  the  very  prophets  whom  they  hold  up  as 
exemplars  of  righteousness,  of  absolute  literary  fraud  and 
deliberate  piracy;  who  demonstrate  with  cool  precision 
that  the  higher  critic  of  to-day  is  better  informed  concern- 
ing the  mistakes  of  Moses  than  was  He  who  claimed  that 
Moses  wrote  of  Him,  and  who  prove,  to  their  own  satis- 
faction and  the  belief  of  many  followers,  that  Jesus  Christ 
our  Lord,  was  limited  in  intelligence  and  would,  if  He 
were  here  to-day,  deny  some  of  the  statements  He  once 
so  unqualifiedly  made;  he  who  will  come  face  to  face 
with  all  this,  and  remember  that  these  teachers  and  repre- 
sentative men  in  the  modern  church  are  not  a  small  mi- 


40  THE   COMING    OF   CHRIST 

nority,  but  are  the  presidents  of  colleges,  the  teachers  of 
theology,  the  men  who  are  preparing  the  preachers  of  the 
coming  day,  and  who  claim  boldly  to  be  the  culture,  the 
sane  scholarship  and  decent,  self-respecting  exegetes,  the 
only  real  Biblical  interpreters  of  the  hour ;  he  who  faces 
and  knows  all  this  may  well  be  persuaded  that  the  pro- 
fessing church  of  the  present  has  not  only  spread  its 
branches  abroad  to  the  utmost  limits  of  the  earth,  but 
that  it  is  affording  now,  as  then,  a  shelter  for  those  birds 
whom  the  Son  of  God  with  unfaltering  speech  character- 
izes as  the  Wicked  one,  the  Wicked  one  and  his  manifold 
and  subtle  agents ;  and  that  the  professing  church  of  to- 
day, even,  as  He  foretold,  is  the  sheltering  place  of  the 
Devil  as  well  as  the  habitation  of  God. 

But  if  we  did  not  have  a  single  page  of  history  to  cor- 
roborate the  forecast,  the  forecast  still  remains,  and  re- 
mains as  a  declaration  on  the  part  of  the  Son  of  God  that 
the  professing  church  would  become  a  sheltering  place 
for  the  Devil  as  well  as  God.  And  when  it  is  remembered 
that  in  the  story  of  the  wheat  and  the  tares  you  have  the 
Devil  introducing  his  own  children  among  those  who  are 
the  children  of  the  kingdom,  it  ought  not  to  be  a  surprise, 
but  evidence  of  the  logic  of  things,  that  in  the  mustard 
tree  he  enters  in  himself  and  finds  habitation.  All  this 
being  true,  it  ought  not  to  be  a  surprise,  but  a  further 
evidence  of  the  continuity  and  consistency  of  the  dis* 
course,  that  in  the  next  parable  we  have  the  picture  of  a 
woman  hiding  leaven  in  a  lump  of  meal  till  the  whole 
lump  is  leavened. 

The  record  of  this  parable  Is  in  the  thirty-third  verse. 
The  actual  statement  is  that,  "  The  kingdom  of  heaven  is 
like  unto  leaven,  which  a  woman  took,  and  hid  in  three 
measures  of  meal,  till  the  whole  was  leavened." 


COURSE  OF  PROFESSING  CHURCH        41 

According  to  Doctor  Adam  Clarke,  "  Leaven  is  a  spe- 
cies of  corruption,  produced  by  fermentation  and  tends 
to  putrefaction." 

It  is  in  itself  a  corrupt  thing,  and  corrupts  that  with 
which  it  comes  in  contact, 
i  The  children  of  Israel  were  not  permitted  to  have  it  in 
;  their  house  during  the  observance  of  the  passover,  that 
passover  which,  according  to  Saint  Paul,  is  a  type  of  the 
sacrifice  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour,  Jesus  Christ.  The 
penalty  for  having  leaven  in  the  home  was  nothing  less 
than  excommunication  from  the  commonwealth  of  Israel, 
even  as  it  is  written: 

"  Whosoever  eateth  leavened  bread  from  the  first  day 
until  the  seventh  day,  that  soul  shall  be  cut  off  from  Is- 
rael." Exodus  12:15. 

Leaven  ^must  not  come  in  contact  with  the  offering  of 
blood.  "  Thou  shalt  not  offer  the  blood  of  my  sacrifice 
with  leaven."   Exodus  34:25. 

There  are  but  two  exceptions  in  Scripture  where  leaven 
is  permitted  of  God,  and  in  both  cases  its  introduction  is 
intended  to  indicate  the  presence  of  that  which  is  distaste- 
ful to  God: 

The  feast  in  Leviticus  23 :  17.  It  occurs  in  the 
ordinance  of  the  wave  loaves  to  be  lifted  up  on  the  day  of 
Pentecost,  and  is  a  symbol  of  the  presence  of  the  flesh  in 
the  first  loaf  of  professing  children  of  the  kingdom,  pre- 
sented before  God  on  that  historic  day.  The  other  ex- 
ception is  to  be  found  recorded  in  Amos  4:5,  and  is 
meant  as  a  witness  of  God  that  the  offering  which  He 
here  commands  to  be  brought  unto  Him  is  from  the  hand 
of  a  people  judged  and  condemned  on  account  of  corrup- 
tion and  hypocrisy. 

Our  Lord  uses  leaven  as  a  symbol  of  bad  doctrine.    He 


4?i      tt^^^^  coMi^ifg_^gf^.  CHRIST 

warns  the  disciples  against  the  leaven  of  the  Pharisees 
and  the  Sadducees.    They  did  not  understand  Him  at  the 
first  and  supposed  that  He  spoke  only  of  bread.    He  cor-^ 
rected  their  error  and  then  it  is  written: 

"Then  understood  they  how  he  bade  them  beware  of 
the  doctrine  of  the  Pharisees  and  the  Sadducees." 

..As  the  Pharisees  were  hypocrites  because  they  stopd. 
for, a  form  of  godliness  but  denied  the  power  thereof^ 
and  the  Sadducees  stood  for  the  denial  of  the  resurrecr.^' 
tion,  saying  there  was  neither  angel  nor  spirit,  then  evi- 
dently the  Lord  uses  leaven,  not  merely  as  a  symbol  of  its., 
penetrating  and  all  pervading  power,  but  as  a  character-^^ 
istic  symbol  of  false  doctrine,  such  doctrines  as  ritualism 
and  materialism.  .    ».     .j  ,,, 

He  warns  the  disciples  against  the  leaven  of  Herod^^ 
Mark  8;  ^5.    And  as  the  character  and  actions, of  Herod 
were  of  unspeakable  wickedness,  He  uses  leaven  to  charj^| 
acterize  all  that  was  vile,  and  wicked,  and  outrageous  in 
the  official  head  of  the  Jewish  nation;^,^,^  ^,^^:         ^^ydT 

In  short,  the  Son  of  God  never  uses  leaven  as  a  symbol 
of  good  doctrine.  He  never  uses  it  in  any  other  than  a, 
bad  sense,  never  uses  it  except  to  draw  attention  to  that 
which  is  bad  and  which  He  repudiates.      .:     ,  ,.  ^ 

^  The  Apostle  Paul  takes  leaven  as  a  symbol  of  the  er- 
rprs  of  Judaism  introduced  into  the  church,  and  working 
to  the  detriment  of  the  faith  and  comfort  of  the  Gentil^^ 
converts.    He  calls  this  error  "  persuasion,"  and  compares.^ 

it  to  leaven,  saying:        F.^htoo-^^   hrrrtoi  ncftc'^-^ 

"  A  little  leaven  leaveneth  the  whole  lump."    Galatians 

The  same  Apostle  uses  leaven  to  portray  the  vain  boast- 
ing of  the  flesh ;  comparing  this  glorying  ij|},<^tl}f{  ^f  sh  |o  _. 


COURSE  OF  PROFESSING  CHURCH        43 


f^  A  little  leaven  leaveneth  the  whole  lump."     i  Corin- 

thians  5':6.  :,r,,^]  .',.:,.:u.  <y]?, 

,jHe  malfes  use  of  leaven  to  emphasize  his  waxningS-^ 
against  the  v^orks^^q^.ithe  flesh  and  characterizes  the^e,| 
works  as,  /'  the  leaven  of  mahce  and  wickedness^''^tffPo<iCrii 
mthians  5  :  o.  f^^   f^fj^.  vtit^!  if-nrirfo  pfrt^^^'Amq 

He  declares  that  the  church  at  Corinth  showed  the 
effect  of  leaven,  for  they  were,  he  says,  ''puffed  up."     i 

Corinthians  ^'.2. 

.  .    .  .     .  .    ''  " 

,, Thus  Ritualism,  Materialism,  Herodianism,  Legalism,, 

Vainglory,  Malice,  Wickedness,  and  the  Works  of  tlie^ 

Filesh  are  set  forth  and  indicated  by  the  Apostle  as  leaven. 

Our  Lord  and  His  Apostle  are  both  at  one  in  testifying;. 

that  leaven  stands  for  that  which  is  evil,  and  only  foi;*,, 

that  which  is  evil ;  it  is  evil  and  corrupt  doctrine,  it  is  ev^^, 

and  corrupt  energy  of  the  flesh ;  never !  not  in  a  single , 

instance,  either  in  the  Old  or  the  New  Testament,  is  it,, 

ever  used  to  indicate  that  which  is  good,  or  used  simply^,' 

as  an  indication  of  its  power  of  penetration  alone ;  always 

it  stands  for  corrupt,  that  is  to  say,  adulterated  doctrhie^ . 

and  the  energy  and  lust  of  the  flesh.    From  ^d  to,  end  9^^^ 

the  Word  of  God  it  is  used  as  evil,  evil  only ;  and  is  neveri^ 

used  except  as  such^vr^  rfordv/  Jhiq^  sdi  Jon  hnBi\s^fi  odi 
The  woman  hides  the  leaven.  n^nftm  5o 

^A  woman  in  Scripture  is  used  either  in  a  good  or  bad 
sense ;  here  she  is  used  in  a  bad  sense ;  not  only  because 
she  hides,  but  because  she  hides  that  which  is  bad  ancj^ 
corrupt,  and  hides  it  in  that  which  is  pit|l;ie^yi(ise  gop(l„a,i^^.3 

mcorrupt.  ^^^j  aiuioi  tx'ii  m  biiB  ,^oii8'>f)  I^hiow  -iri  ri:;iriv/ 
[^yhe  woman  hides  the  leaven  in  a  certain  measure  of,, 

meal  which  is  called  a  "  lump,;;,  ,j,,  ^^  noi?P.',iny.3  ^di  hns 
-Jn  his  epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  I  Corinthians  5:6-8,, 

the  Apostle  speaks  of  the  professing  church  as  a  lump  ;a 


44  THE   COMING   OF   CHRIST 

and  declares  that  old  leaven  has  entered  into  it;  by  the 
strongest  analogy  therefore  the  lump  in  the  Parable 
represents  the  professing  church;  the  woman  hiding  the 
leaven  is  some  depraved  system  represented  by  her,  hid- 
ing, introducing  false  doctrine  into,  and  permeating  the 
professing  church  with  the  energy  and  motive  of  the 
flesh.    The  lump  is  divided  into  three  measures. 

It  is  a  somewhat  striking  coincidence,  to  say  the  least, 
that  at  this  present  moment  the  professing  church  of 
Christ  is  divided  into  three  great  parts,  the  Roman 
church,  the  Greek,  and  the  Protestant  church. 

The  whole  lump  becomes  leavened,  permeated;  and 
thus  the  whole  professing  church  according  to  the  proph- 
ecy is  to  be  filled  with  corrupt,  adulterated  doctrine, 
and  moved,  energized,  by  the  power  of  the  flesh;  it  is 
this  false  doctrine,  this  energy  of  the  flesh  which  is  to 
give  the  professing  church  its  world-wide  expansion  and 
apparent  triumph. 

If  therefore  the  mustard  tree  gives  us  the  outward  ex- 
pansion of  the  church  by  reason  of  its  identification  with, 
and  rootage  in  the  earth,  the  leaven  is  that  falsehood  in 
doctrine,  that  corruption  in  teaching,  and  that  energy  of 
the  flesh  and  not  the  Spirit,  which  give  us  the  mainspring 
of  action. 

In  the  course  of  these  parables  nothing  is  more 
startling  than  the  attitude  and  method  of  the  Devil. 
In  the  first  parable  he  seeks  to  destroy,  in  the  second  he 
endeavors  to  corrupt,  in  the  third  he  makes  use  of  that 
which  he  would  destroy,  and  in  the  fourth  takes  the  place 
of  authority  for  the  dissemination  of  his  own  falsehood 
and  the  expression  of  his  own  energy.  The  illustrations 
which  set  forth  this  Satanic  fashion  are  striking.  In  the 
first  parable  a  bird  snatches  away  the  seed ;  in  the  second 


COURSE  OF  PROFESSING  CHURCH       45 

an  enemy  sows  cheat  among  the  true  seed;  in  the  third 
the  corrupted  Christianity  in  the  world  becomes  the  shel- 
ter for  the  birds  of  evil,  for  the  Devil  himself,  and  in  this 
fourth,  a  woman  hides  that  which  is  sour  and  corrupt- 
ing in  a  definite  measure  of  dough. 

How  strange,  how  mysterious  it  all  seems !  But  in  this 
very  mystery  of  evil  mixing  with  and  supplanting  the 
good  and  the  true,  we  have  the  definition  and  explanation 
of  the  title  of  all  these  parables,  the  meaning  of  the  divine 
discourse,  "  the  Mysteries  of  the  Kingdom."  A  mystery 
that  the  good  seed  should  not  bring  forth  fruit  in  all 
places  sown  over ;  mystery  that  the  Devil  should  succeed 
in  bringing  in  tares  and  corrupting  the  profession  of 
Christ;  mystery  that  this  corrupt  profession  should  ex- 
pand, rather  than  the  true  profession,  and  fill  the  whole 
earth  with  its  darkness ;  mystery  that  the  professing 
church  should  become  a  shelter  for  him  who  is  the  enemy 
of  God  and  man;  mystery  that  in  the  professing  church 
of  Christ  we  should  have  the  doctrine  of  the  Devil  rather 
than  the  clear,  sunlit  doctrine  of  God.  It  is  the  object  of 
this  discourse  to  forewarn  and  to  explain  to  him  who 
"  hath  ears  to  hear,"  this  mystery. 

To  attempt  to  break  the  force  of  the  unity  of  these  four 
parables  is  useless.  To  admit  that  the  introduction  of  the 
tares  is  the  corruption  of  professing  Christianity  and 
then  speak  of  the  Mustard  tree  as  the  expansion  of  a 
pure  and  divine  Christianity,  is  absolutely  illogical.  To 
take  a  fractional  reception  of  the  Gospel,  the  mixing  of 
that  fraction  with  the  spurious,  and  the  spreading  of  this 
mixed  and  spurious  profession  in  all  directions  over  the 
earth,  and  then  testify  that  the  sour,  corrupt  leaven,  al- 
ways used  by  our  Lord  and  His  disciples  as  the  symbol 
of  false  doctrine  and  the  unwelcome  energy  of  the  flesh, 


46       ^^^^HE   COMING    OF   CHRIST    "'"■- 

te  the  final  supremacy  of  an  untainted  Gospel  ait'd' the  vic- 
tbry  of  an  incorrupt  church  in  the  world,  is  to  so  jar  the 
whole  movement  of  the  discourse,  to  so  charge  it  with 
contradiction  and  inconsistency,  that  all  unity  of  meaning 
and  intelligence  of  interpretation  are  at  an  end ;  to  do 
this  in  the  face  of  the  fact  that  the  whole  Word  of  God 
as  well  as  the  unfailing  nature  of  leaven  are  brought  to 
W^fe'f'*In  evidence  of  that  which  is  pervadingly  and  pene- 
tratingly corrupt  and  condemned  of  God,  is  to  render^ 
sane  exegesis  impossible,  and  make  the  interpretation  of 
Scripture  a  matter  of  school  boy  frolic  and  unintelligent 

g'Uess       ^^^!-i^^'  Ji.i  -ii.iJ    (ii»jc;^ii;  ,  w/u  ii/^^JH  d^'J'JitUi     r 

^^  Gathering  up,  therefore,  the  testimony  in  the  line  of  its 
legitimacy,  it  is  evident  that  in  this  discourse,  so  far,  the 
Son  of  God  declares  thatff'^'^'  ^^'^'^^  ^^^  "^^^  "^'^^^^^^"^  'i>"^^^r 
""!r;^'At'tto  tfrtie'^during  His  absence  would  there  be  a 
universal  reception  of  the  Gospel,    -^^noood  bh/orf^-  ^ym&y 

'2.  That  the  Gospel  would  be 'opposed  by  the  World, 

the  Flesh  and  the  Devil  till  the  end  of  the  age. 

^'-'3.  That  the  church  would  grow  unwatchful  and  fall 
asleep.  iiiiihj-  lii  nij;i7vi)ioi  oj  i>iiiijo:>aiD  '6uu 

4.  That  the  Devil  would  take  advantage  of  this  un- 
watchfulness  and  introduce  his  own  children  into  the 
professing  body,  of  institute  systems  in  the  name  of 
Christ  that  were  false  and  corrupt  to  the  core.  '  f>'>t6t 
'■  ^.  That  this  corrupt  profession  of  Christianity  would 
draw  its  sustenance  and  strength  frohi  the  World,  spread 
its  branches  in  every  direction  and  become  in  the  name 
of  Christ,  the  shelter,  the  abiding  place  for  the  Devil 
and  his  multiple  agents.  ^^'^*5  '^u<>v\iiK\rL  \n\i^  i>jyani 

'''6;' That  Satan,  by  means  of  some  false  system  typified 
by  a  woman,  would  adulterate  the  doctrine  of  Christ  till 
the  professing  church  would  be  full  of  error,  the  actual 


COURSE  OF  PROFESSING  CHURCH       47 

ignorance  of  the  truth,  and  the  reprehenslve  energy  of 
the  flesh. 

7.  That  this  condition  of  affairs,  the  evil  and  the  good 
in  the  professing  church,  the  Son  of  God  and  the  Devil, 
both  using  the  doctrine  of  God  and  the  profession  of  truth 
for  diverse  ends,  would  continue  in  increasing  accent  till 
the  Lord  himself  should  come  again  to  enter  into  judg- 
ment upon  the  very  body  that  should  bear  His  name. 

Such  is  the  testimony  of  the  Son  of  God  concerning  the 
history  of  the  professing  church  in  this  age  as  revealed 
in  His  unbroken  discourse  of  the  thirteenth  of  Matthew. 

There  is  certainly  not  the  slightest  hint  here  given  that 
this  church,  or  even  this  profession  in  His  name,  would 
ever  bring  the  world  at  last  in  joyous  captivity  to  the  feet 
of  a  coming  King. 


THE  COURSE  OF  THE   PROFESSING 
CHURCH    IN   THIS    AGE 

(The  Testimony  of  Christ  Continued.) 


"WHEN   THE   SON   OF   MAN   COMETH,    SHALL  HE 
FIND  [THE]  FAITH  ON  THE  EARTH?"— Luke  i8:8. 


JJAl  iTHMO'J    MAM    'TO    H08    :4HT    KJIHV/  ' 

.«:8i  Dill  :  ;         I  !HT1  QMIM 


t«:.    I 


as  the  triumphant  King.    He  says: 
""For  I  say  unto  yoii,  Ye*  shall  m  -^  •'   '  "   '^'^ 


*Yin3v/t  odi  allri  rfoirlv/  ^sir/oo?}'  owa/iB  ^H 

CHAPTER  VI:y^^.^,^j.^,^,^  1^^^  rljinol 

Cfie  Course  of  tfie  professinjj  Cfiutc^ 

in   tftiS   age,,^,^^  :.ri/oi  .uoiv:yKi 

i.Mii^    ii'/iiii.j    ;^_it)^ovit 'U;     ;iij    s'i'    ^■-'■^Uil    jH    n:>hini'i'.)    rlllrl 

At  the  close  of  the  twenty-third  chapter  of  Matthews 

'Gospel   our   Lord  dispensatiorialiy   sets   asilie   the  Jew. 

He  says : ,  .     . 

"  Behold  your  house  is  left  unto  you  desolate.  J^.  ^.\ 

He  declares  that  they  shall  not  see  Him  again  till  with 

repentant  voice  they  acclaim  Him  at  His  Second  Coming 

//    'Jill        .i\i)\\j    iljiw    liO 

not /see  me  henceforth, 
ye  shall  say,  Slessed'i's  He  that  "cometh  in  |:he  ,hairib 
of  the  Lord.      Matthew  23 :38,  39.  '- 

Havmg  thus  set  the  people  aside  nationally  and  aispen- 
sationally.  He  is  seen,  in  the  opening  verses  of  the  twen- 
ty-fourth chapter,  going  out  of  the  temple  and,  therefore, 
officially  setting  it  aside  as  the  center  of  the  divine  mani- 
festation among  men.  In  response  to  the  attention  which 
His  disciples  draw  'to 'the' great'*  stones  with  which  the 
temple  is  built.  He  declares  the  time  is  coming  when  riot 
one  of  these  stories  shall  be  left  staridinsf  upon'zlri- 
other.  '  When  He  is  come  to  the  Mount  of  Olives  and  is  / 
set  down.  His  followers  upon  whom  His  words  have- 
fallen  with  solemn  effect  come  to  Him  privately  and  ask 
Him  three  questions :  ^\  '''^^-  ''''''\ 

"i.  When  the  temple  would  be  destroved?  '^  ^ 

2.  What  would  be  the  sign  of  His  Coming?       '  ^"^^'^^ 

'  3I  When  would  be,  the  end  of  the  Woiiaf  ^'^  ^^^'^  ^  " 

.1    i !  -ni.ifi.jim(> J  <^    .jr!iifl  ;  o)  lu'^i'iv  'yi?.iy[h  £.  ^.d  r.foy  inaa 

51 


1 


52  THE   COMING   OF   CHRIST 

He  answers  them  in  a  discourse  which  fills  the  twenty- 
fourth  and  twenty-fifth  chapters. 

In  the  twenty-fourth  chapter  He  sketches  some  char- 
acteristics which  will  obtain  in  the  world  and  in  Israel 
previous  to  the  appearing  in  glory;  then  in  the  twenty- 
fifth  chapter  He  takes  up  the  professing  church  and 
gives  a  picture  of  its  attitude  and  character  till  He  comes 
again. 

He  presents  this  picture  in  the  parable  of  the  Ten 
Virgins. 

Ten  virgins  took  their  lamps  and  went  forth  to  meet 
the  Bridegroom.  Five  of  them  were  wise  and  five  of 
them  were  foolish.  The  foolish  took  no  extra  supply  of 
oil  with  them.  The  wise  not  only  took  their  lamps  but 
vessels  of  oil  besides.  The  Bridegroom  tarried.  They  all 
fell  asleep.  At  midnight  the  cry  was  suddenly  made  that 
the  Bridegroom  was  coming;  all  awoke  and  trimmed 
their  lamps.  Then  the  foolish  came  to  the  wise  and  said : 
"  Our  lamps  are  going  out,  give  us  of  your  oil."  But  the 
wise  replied  that  they  had  oil  only  for  themselves  and  ex- 
horted the  foolish  and  unprepared  virgins  to  go  buy  a 
fresh  supply  for  their  darkening  lamps.  The  latter  ac- 
cepted the  exhortation  and  went  to  buy ;  but  while  they 
were  gone  the  Bridegroom  came  and  they  that  were 
ready  went  in  with  Him  to  the  marriage  and  the  door 
was  shut.  Afterwards  the  other  virgins  came  and  called 
on  the  Lord  to  open  the  door.  He  did  not ;  on  the  con- 
trary, from  within  that  fast  closed  door  He  answered: 

"/  know  you  not!'' 

In  the  second  epistle  to  the  Corinthians  the  Apostle 
writes : 

"  I  have  espoused  you  to  one  husband  that  I  may  pre- 
sent you  as  a  chaste  virgin  to  Christ."  2  Corinthians  11:2. 


COURSE  OF  PROFESSING  CHURCH       53 

The  assembly  at  Corinth  is  thus  set  forth  by  the  figure 
of  a  virgin.  But  what  is  written  to  Corinth  is  written  to 
"  all  that  in  every  place  call  upon  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ 
our  Lord."    i  Corinthians  i :  2. 

The  virgin  then  stands  according  to  Pauline,  and  in- 
spired, declaration,  as  the  symbol  or  figure  of  the  as- 
sembly of  Christ.  Ten  is  the  number  of  testimony.  We 
have  the  ten  commandments,  the  ten  spies  and  the  tenth 
day  in  which  the  lamb  was  set  aside  as  a  witness  to  the 
mind  and  purpose  of  God  in  respect  to  the  passover ;  the 
ten  virgins,  therefore,  indicate  the  profession  of  Christ 
in  this  age.  The  circumstances,  action,  and  condition  of 
the  virgins  give  in  outline  the  history  of  this  profession 
till  Christ  returns. 

We  have  here: 

1.  The  going  forth  of  the  light  bearers  in  the  night  as 
the  fitting  expression  of  the  function  of  the  church,  as  the 
true  relationship  to  Him  who  is  the  "  Light  of  the  world," 
and  who  has  said :  "  Let  your  light  so  shine  " ;  for,  "  ye 
are  the  light  of  the  world  " ;  and  meets  the  apostolic  in- 
junction as  recorded  in  his  letter  to  the  Philip- 
pians :  "  Shine  ye  as  lights  in  the  world."  Philippians 
2:15. 

2.  The  going  forth  of  the  virgins  to  meet  the  Bride- 
groom is  a  dramatic  testimony  to  the  true  character  and 
relation  of  the  church  in  this  age  as  an  espoused  virgin, 
not  yet  a  wife,  as  betrothed,  not  yet  married. 

3.  The  waiting  for  the  Bridegroom  while  He  tarried 
is  a  witness  to  the  original  attitude  of  the  Church  in  rela- 
tion to  the  Coming  of  the  Lord  as  commended  by  the 
Apostle  in  his  epistle  to  the  model  church  of  the  New 
Testament,  to  whom  he  writes : 

"  Ye  turned  to  God  from  idols,  to  serve  the  living  and 


>J 


54  THE   COMING   OF   CHRIST 

true  God ;  and  to  wait  for  His  Son  from  heaven."  i 
The^salonians  I :  JO. 

^,,4.. The -virgins  failing  asleep  through  the  tarrying  of 
the  Bridegroom  and  the  ceasing  altogether  to  watch  for 
Him,  is  the.  yielding  up.^of  J;he  church  to  the  feelings  and 
impulses  of  nature,  the  giving  up  of  the  Coming  of ,  thp^ 
Lord  as  a  present,  an  imminent  hope.  .^^^^>^  - 

, 1 5., The  midnight  cry:  "Behold,  the  Bridegroom  Com- 
eth," the  taking  up  again  of  the  apostolic  testimony,  the 
revival  in  the  church  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Lord's  re- 

j, 6,. The, demonstration  that  spme, of  the  virgins  had  a 
supply,pfjOil. for  their. lamps,,  and  that  others  had  none^, 
is  the  revelation  that  in  the  professing  church  o.f,.,^h^istf 
as  it  passes  through  time,  will  be  found  those  who  make 
a  profession,  but  have  no  supply  of  oil,  no  possession  of 
tj[;ie  Holy  Spirit  to  reinforce  that  profession;  and  that,^ 
therefore,  in  the  church  there  are  the  two  classes,  the 
professors  and  possessors,  and  those  who  are  simply  pro- 
fessors, and  not  possessorSt    Of  course,  the  essential,  dif-. 
ference  between  the  wise  and  foolish  here  in  this  matter: 
o^j9^J,4?i.the  supplyj^or., the, Jighjt,,,p^ that  which  sustains 
it.    The  oil  in  Scripture  is  used  as  a  symbol  of  the  Spirit, 
just  as  the.  lamp  is  the  symbol  of  the  Word.    The  lamp 
may  be  used  spasmodically  Zf;i//i  the  oil  which  belongs  to.^.^ 
iV^. which  fills  its  measure;  but  the  lamp  will  continue  to.^' 
burn  when  taken  up  and  held  in  human  hands,  in  the, 
same  human  hands,  for  a.n^,  length  of  time,  only  as  it  is 
constantly  supplied  with  oil.;  in  pther  words,  the  lamp^  ^ 
hearer  must  he  also  an  oil  hearer.    The  Word  of  God  may. 
be  held  aloft  in  ft)^^,  ;neasure  of  its  own  power  to  give  Jighl;', 
at  the  first,  because  there  is  alwaiys  a  sufficient  supply  p^fj-' 
the  Spirit. for  the  awakening,  quickening  and  enlighten- 


COURSE  p^  PROFESSING^  CHURCH       55 

ing  of  the  individual,  but  the  hand  which  holds  it  will 
find  that  divine  instrument  failing  to  give  light  unless 
there  is  in  the  body  of  the  lampbearer  the  indwelling 
Spirit,  continually  reinforcing  and  making  to  shine  tlie. 
letter  of  the  word.    This  is  an  tour  of  the  profession  of 
Christ,  but  to  be  of  avail  it  must  alsO;  for  the  ^indi 
be  an  hour  of  the  possession  of  Christ,^    r  . . 

7^  The  going  in  of  the  wise  into  the     place  prepared,"^ 
and  the  leaving  the  foolish  in  ignorance  of  the  fact  that 
the  Bridegoom  had  conie,  is  a  witness  that  at  the  Coming 
of  the  Lord  some  will  be  taken  and  others  left. 

8.  The  declaration  of  the  Lord  from  within  the  marn 
riage  chamber  to  the  foolish  when  they  came,  that  He  did., 
not  know  them,  is  the  declaration  of  that  truth  already, 
suggested,  that  in  the  professing  church  there  will  be 
those  who  in  spite  of  the  wearing  of  His  name  will  have . 
no  actual,  essential,  relationship  to  the  Lord ;  and  he  who ; 
has  read  the  parable  of  the  wheat  and  tares  and  heard  our 
Lord  declare  that  the  Devil  would  introduce  his  owii^ 
children  among  the  children  of  the  kingdom,  will  have  np^-, 
difficulty  in  seeing  in  this  separation  of  the  wise  and  fool-. , 
ish  virgins,  and  the  Lord's  denial  of  the  latter,  that  they  ! 
constitute,  in  type,  those  who  are  not  of  Christ  but  §ata^, 

9.  The   continuance  of  the  wise   and   foolish  virgmSf 
side  by  side  till  the  moment  the  Bridegroom  comes  is  the  r 
anticipative  witness  that  the  history  of  the  church  in  this.- 
world  would  be  the  history  of  a  profession  made  up  of  ^ 
those  who  would  be  false  as  well  as  those  who  would  be 
true,  wheat  and  tares,  children  of  the  Kingdorn  and  chil'- 
dren  of  the  Devil. 

10.  The  midnight  hour  preceding  the  coming '  of  the 
Bridegroom  is  the  spiritual  darkness  of  the  world,  and  is 
the  prophecy  that  up  to  the  very  moment  of  the  Coming 


56  THE   COMING   OF   CHRIST 

of  the  Lord,  the  church  as  the  lamp  bearer,  God's  light 
in  the  world,  will  have  failed  to  dissipate  the  gloom  or 
bring  the  earth  into  the  radiant  glory  of  a  universally 
pervading  and  triumphant  Gospel. 

In  the  Gospel  according  to  Saint  Luke  our  Lord  de- 
livers another  parable  concerning  the  professing  church. 

A  nobleman  whose  authority  is  in  dispute  among  men 
goes  into  a  far  country  to  receive  from  the  hands  of  a 
supreme  power  a  kingdom  for  himself — and  to  return. 
He  calls  his  ten  servants  about  him  and  gives  to  them 
ten  pounds,  bidding  them  to  occupy  till  he  comes  again. 
His  citizens,  however,  hate  him  and,  as  he  departs, 
send  a  message  after  him  saying:  "  We  will  not  have  this 
man  to  reign  over  us." 

He  receives  the  kingdom  in  a  far  country  from  the 
hand  of  power  and  returns.  At  his  return,  he  summons 
his  servants  before  him,  those  to  whom  he  had  given  the 
money,  and  enters  into  an  examination  of  the  business 
they  have  carried  on  in  his  name  during  his  absence.  He 
finds  that  nine  have  increased  the  pound  entrusted  to 
them  in  varying  measure.  He  rewards  each  according  to 
his  service  with  a  degree  of  rulership  in  the  kingdom, 
making  one  ruler  over  ten  cities,  another  over  five.  He 
discovers  when  he  comes  to  the  tenth  man  that  this  latter 
has  hidden  his  pound  in  a  napkin,  has  never  used  it.  He 
is  indignant,  commands  the  pound  to  be  taken  from  the 
faithless  servant  and  given  to  him  who  has  proved  him- 
self pre-eminentl|y  faithful ;  then  he  commands  his  ene- 
mies to  be  brought  and  slain  to  death  before  him.  Luke 
19:  12-27. 

At  this  juncture  it  is  only  necessary  to  note  one  partic- 
ular point  in  the  parable,  and  that  is,  the  character  of  ser- 
vice rendered  by  those  to  whom  the  ten  pounds  were 


COURSE  OF  PROFESSING  CHURCH       S7 

committed.  The  judgment  seat  of  the  Nobleman  shows 
that  this  service  has  been  imperfect ;  aye,  that  some  of  the 
servants  have  been  called  by  the  Nobleman,  wicked. 

1.  This  Nobleman,  of  course,  is  the  Son  of  God. 

2.  His  return  from  the  "  far  country  "  is  the  return  of 
the  Lord  from  heaven ;  it  is  his  Second  Coming. 

3.  The  inspection  and  judgment  of  the  work  of  the 
servants  is  the  judgment  seat  of  Christ  in  respect  to  pro- 
fessed Christian  service  during  His  absence. 

4.  The  wicked  servant  belongs  to  the  category  of 
those  who  shall  be  ashamed  before  Him  at  His  Coming; 
who  shall  not  receive  an  abundant  entrance  into  the  king- 
dom ;  who  shall  lose  their  crown  and  be  shut  out  from 
participation  in  "  the  joy  of  the  Lord,"  even  His  rule  and 
glory  on  the  earth. 

All  this  is  an  added  evidence  that  at  the  Coming  of  our 
Lord  He  will  not  find  a  faithful,  a  perfect,  a  triumphant 
and  millennial-producing  church. 

From  a  consideration  of  the  parabolic  declarations  of 
the  Lord,  turn  to  some  of  His  direct  and  open  statements. 
Hear  what  He  says  in  His  discourse  upon  the  Mount  of 
Olives  as  recorded  in  the  Gospel  according  to  Saint 
Matthew  24: 12. 

"  And  because  iniquit5r  shall  abound,  the  love  of  many 
shall  wax  cold." 

The  word  here  rendered  "  iniquity "  is  lawlessnesses. 
This  lawlessness  is  to  be  multipHed  as  the  age  goes  on, 
and  because  of  it  the  love  of  many  shall  be  cooled.  To 
cool,  as  thus  used,  signifies  to  make  cool  by  the  blowing 
of  a  breath  that  is  chill ;  it  is  the  chill  and  icy  breath  of 
lawlessness  breathing  over  the  faith  of  Christ  till  its  very 
profession  shall  be  frozen ;  until  the  warm  pulse  beat  of 
love  to  God,  love  to  His  Christ,  and  love  to  His  cause 


58  THE   COMING   OF   CHRIST 

shall  cease.  And  this  icy  breath  is  to  strike  its  chill,  not 
into  a  few  here  and  there,  but  as  it  is  written,  among 
the  "  many." 

It  is  a  startling  picture !  It  is  the  pulling  aside  by  the 
divine  hand,  and  a  revealing  of  the  state  and  condition  of 
things  in  this  world  while  the  Lord  and  Master  of  it  is 
away;  a  picture  of  confusion,  of  violence,  and  denial  of 
the  foundations  of  righteousness  and,  at  the  same  time,  a 
stunning  and  terrible  announcement  that  the  profession 
of  Christ  in  numberless  cases  will  fail  to  stand  the  test 
and  fall  away.  Eliminating  the  church  from  the  scene 
and  owning  a  distinct  profession  of  Christ  in  the  "  end  " 
of  the  age,  it  is  a  witness  indisputable,  that  upon  the  very 
threshold  of  the  Lord's  return,  there  is  utter  failure,  wide 
spread  apostasy,  and  nothing  like  a  conquering  profession 
that  shall  bring  the  world  in  gladsome  subjugation  to  a 
rejected  Messiah. 

But  listen  to  the  statement  to  be  found  in  the  Gospel 
according  to  Saint  Luke  12:  51-53. 

"  Suppose  ye  that  I  am  come  to  give  peace  on  earth  ? 
I  tell  you.  Nay;  but  rather  division.  For  from  hence- 
forth there  shall  be  five  in  one  house  divided,  three 
against  two,  and  two  against  three.  The  father  shall  be 
divided  against  the  son,  and  the  son  against  the  father, 
and  the  daughter  against  the  mother;  the  mother  in  law 
against  her  daughter  in  law,  and  the  daughter  in  law 
against  her  mother  in  law." 

From  henceforth  in  the  earth  His  personal  life.  His 
testimony  and  His  work  should  be  a  cause,  not  of  peace 
but  of  division  and  discord.  From  henceforth,  the 
"  house,"  the  house  of  profession,  that  house  of  profes- 
sion which  is  the  outward  seeming  called  the  church, 
should  be  the  center  of  disputatious  division.     In  the 


COURSE  OF  PROFESSING  CHURCH       59 

name  of  Christ,  the  household,  the  family,  for  whose 
unity  He  prayed,  that  household  and  that  family  called 
the  church,  would  take  sides  and  wage  bitter  battle  un- 
til peace  with  soiled  wings  should  take  her  flight,  and 
all  hope  of  outward  union  and  inward  unity  should  be 
gone  forever. 

Even  if  one  does  not  turn  to  the  historic  page  to  lend 
his  ear  to  the  sounds  of  conflict  arising  from  the  thresh- 
old of  great  basilicas,  or  from  the  religious  mob  of 
crowded  streets,  or  acrimonious  utterances  of  opposing 
councils,  he  has  in  this  utterance  of  Him  who  is  the  eter- 
nal truth,  sufficient  to  warn  him  that  the  professing 
church  of  Christ,  at  no  time  during  the  absence  of  the 
Lord,  would  be  in  a  position  to  convert  the  world,  or 
bring  in  the  millennial  triumph,  but  would  itself  be  the 
clanging  note  of  discord,  the  inspiration  of  bitter  war. 
The  force  of  the  testimony  as  to  the  outcome  of  the  pro- 
fessing church  in  this  age  is  emphasized  in  the  remark- 
able statement  to  be  found  in  Luke  18:8: 

"  When  the  Son  of  Man  cometh,  shall  He  find  faith 
on  the  earth  ?  " 

Our  Lord  had  been  teaching  the  necesslfcy  of  continu- 
ance in  prayer,  even  though  the  silence  of  Heaven,  the 
apparent  failure  to  respond,  might  appeal  to  the  praying 
one  to  cease.  To  illustrate  this  virtue  He  tells  the  story 
of  an  unjust  judge  who  neither  feared  God  nor  man,  was 
seemingly  immovable,  but  nevertheless,  when  a  certain 
widow  came  before  him  and  incessantly  urged  him  to 
avenge  her  of  her  adversary,  because  of  her  continual 
coming,  and  because  he  was  sure  she  would  persistently 
weary  him  till  he  granted  her  request,  at  last  determined 
to  own  her  appeal  and  do  according  to  her  desire.  The 
widow  lifting  up  the  voice  of  supplication,  is  the  elect 


6o  THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST 

remnant  in  Israel,  that  Israel  whose  Maker  and  Redeemer 
is  her  Husband,  lifting  up  her  voice  in  the  hour  of  the 
Great  Tribulation,  in  consonance  with  the  martyrs  under 
the  fifth  seal  (Revelation  6:9-11). 

The  assurance  of  the  Lord  that  He  will  speedily  avenge 
His  elect  at  His  Coming,  is  the  promise  that  He  will  de- 
liver them  as  representative  Israel  in  that  day  from  their 
"  adversary,"  that  old  serpent  which  is  called  the  Devil 
and  Satan. 

The  Greek  form  in  which  He  asks  the  question  con- 
cerning faith  requires  always  a  negative  answer,  for  the 
conjunction  used  is  apa^  and  is  the  strongest  possible 
declaration  that  faith  will  not  exist  at  that  moment; 
that  the  profession  in  His  name,  the  profession  once  made 
by  the  church,  will  have  passed  away,  will  no  longer  be 
present. 

Without  attempting  to  urge  here  the  tremendous,  the 
marvelous,  almost  undesigned  witness  to  the  previous 
translation,  or  taking  away  of  the  "  true  "  church  before 
the  moment  when  Israel  again  comes  into  view,  we  have, 
beyond  dispute,  the  all-sufficient  testimony  that  whatever 
may  remain  as  a  testimony  in  His  name,  has  completely 
departed  from  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints,  no 
longer  exists ;  that  there  is  no  longer  faith  in  Him,  either 
in  the  profession  of  His  name  or  in  the  world  at  large; 
and  that  along  the  whole  horizon  there  is  not  a  single  in- 
timation that  the  world  is  being  converted  to  an  absent 
Lord ;  neither  of  a  converted  world,  nor  of  a  supplicating, 
earnest,  faithful  church  to  bring  it  about. 

Such  is  the  testimony  of  the  Son  of  God  concerning 
the  professing  church  in  the  world  during  His  absence. 

Gathering  up  this  testimony  in  all  its  parts,  as  we  must 
do  from  time  to  time,  that  nothing  be  lost,  we  have  the 


COURSE  OF  PROFESSING  CHURCH       6i 

clear,  positive  statement  that  at  no  single  moment  during* 
^His  absence  would  the  Gospel  be  universally  received ; 
that  Satan  would  succeed  in  introducing  into  the  world  a 
false  profession  in  the  name  of  the  Christ  until  the  entire 
profession  in  His  name  would  be  thoroughly  mixed  with 
the  false ;  that  this  profession  of  Christ  would  be  turned 
into  a  shelter  equally  as  facile  for  the  Devil  as  the  Son  of 
God ;  and  that  the  expansion  of  this  professing  church  in 
the  world  would  be  due  to  the  energy  of  the  flesh  and  the 
subtilty  of  adulterated  doctrine;  that  steadily  the  great 
system  would  be  permeated  with  error  and  moved  by 
forces  not  always  divine ;  that  the  church  as  a  light  bearer 
would  let  that  light  grow  dim ;  that  there  would  be  in  its 
ranks  those  who  had  the  saving  grace  of  God,  and  those 
who,  if  they  really  possessed  that  grace,  would  become 
chilled  and  numb ;  that  so  far  from  causing  the  swords  to 
be  beaten  into  ploughshares  and  the  spears  into  pruning 
hooks,  the  great  profession  itself  would  become  the  fruit- 
ful source  of  conflict,  division  and  bloody  war ;  that  so  far 
from  presenting  the  spectacle  of  a  house,  a  family,  at  one, 
the  church  would  be  as  a  household  divided  against  itself ; 
that  the  professing  church  would  so  utterly  depart  from 
the  actual  possession  of  faith  that  the  Lord  with  all  the 
wealth  of  His  forbearance  and  grace  would  be  unable  to 
find  it;  the  faith  for  which  He  would  give  His  life;  the 
faith  in  whose  name  He  would  commission  the  church  to 
go  forth  to  an  unbelieving  world. 

Such  is  the  testimony  of  Him  who  cannot  lie,  who  has 
said  concerning  things  of  truth : 

''//  it  were  not  so  I  would  have  told  you/' 


THE  COURSE  OF  THE   PROFESSING 
CHURCH    IN   THIS   AGE 

(The  Testimony  of  Saint  Paul.) 


"FOR  THE  TIME  WILL  COME  WHEN  THEY  WILL 
NOT  ENDURE  SOUND  DOCTRINE."— 2  Timothy  4:3. 

"HAVING  A  FORM  OF  GODLINESS  BUT  DENYING 
THE  POWER  THEREOF."— 2  Timothy  3 15. 


CHAPTER  VII 

Cfie  Course  of  tfie  prof  egging  Cfiurcfi 

in  tfiis  age 

(The  Testimony  of  St.  Paul) 

In  the  last  two  chapters  we  examined  the  testimony  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  concerning  the  character  and  con- 
dition of  the  professing  church  in  this  age ;  and  although 
we  examined  parables  and  discourses,  direct  statements 
and  isolated  passages,  we  found  no  hint  or  intimation  that 
He  ever  taught  that  the  church  would  become  triumphant 
and  bring  in  the  Millennial  era  of  peace  and  righteous- 
ness during  His  absence ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  the  out- 
ward profession  of  Christ  would  be  conquered  by  the 
world  ;  that  so  far  from  bringing  in  His  triumph,  it  would 
in  large  measure,  apparently,  bring  in  His  defeat.  What 
do  the  Apostles  teach? 

Do  they  coincide  with,  and  emphasize  this  testimony; 
or,  is  there  a  shiver  of  contradiction,  and  do  they  see  rifts 
in  the  darkness  which  the  Son  of  God  never  saw,  and 
catch  glimpses  of  the  purple  and  gold  of  millennial  dawns 
He  never  witnessed? 

The  Apostle  Paul  is  at  Miletus. 

He  has  summoned  the  elders  of  the  Ephesian  church  to 
meet  him.  It  is  a  grave  and  profoundly  important  meet- 
ing. It  is  the  last  time  that  he  will  ever  see  them.  As 
becoming  an  Apostle,  as  one  specially  inspired  of  God,  as 
one  through  whom  God  speaks  peculiarly  to  the  church, 
and  as  his  last  utterance,  he  will  speak  soberly  and  faith- 

65 


66  THE   COMING   OF   CHRIST 

fully.  If  along  the  horizon  he  sees  the  shining  of  tri- 
umphant to-morrows,  he  will  indicate  them,  if  for  no 
other  reason  than  that  he  may  comfort  and  encourage. 
If  the  view  which  God  shall  give  him  of  the  possible 
future  has  in  it  the  inspiration  of  a  warm  and  helpful 
optimism,  he  will  make  it  known. 

And  what  does  he  make  known? 

Standing  there  on  the  shore  with  the  future  throwing 
its  mingled  light  and  shadow  on  his  face  and  seeing  on 
the  background  of  the  times  the  rising  outline  of  the 
professing  church  in  the  world,  he  declares  that  the  hour 
is  even  then  at  hand  when  false  teachers  will  arise  and 
wolf-like  refuse  to  spare  the  flock;  that  in  their  own 
midst.  In  that  very  church,  where  for  three  years  he  had 
ministered  as  of  God  night  and  day  with  tear-filled  eyes, 
working  with  his  own  hands  and  setting  all  hope  of  per- 
sonal or  material  gain  aside,  rejecting  gold  and  silver, 
living  almost  on  the  threshold  of  poverty  and  giving  his 
whole  being  without  stint  to  the  enunciation  of  the  truth 
of  heaven — in  this  church,  an  apostolic  church  of  Christ, 
there  would  arise  leaders  teaching  perverse  things,  things 
contrary  to  the  revelation  which  the  Lord  Himself  had 
spoken  by  the  mouth  of  the  Apostle ;  that  division,  sects 
and  raging  controversy  would  break  out  and  toss  them 
like  a  wind  driven  ship  on  a  tumultuous  sea. 

In  his  first  epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  first  chapter,  tenth 
to  thirteenth  verses,  he  gives  us  a  transcript  of  the  pro- 
fessing church  In  that  great  city. 

In  verse  lo,  he  exhorts  that  there  shall  be  no  divisions, 
or  schisms;  he  says  he  hears  there  are  contentions 
among  them.  The  word  so  used  is  strong;  it  signifies 
that  there  has  been  a  brawl,  that  voices  have  been  raised 
in  harsh  jangling  and  conflict. 


COURSE  OF  PROFESSING  CHURCH       67 

Verse  12  shows  us  that  four  sects,  or  denominations 
had  actually  arisen  in  the  church  in  that  city : 

The  Paulicians. 

The  Apollosarians. 

The  Kephites. 

The  followers  of  Christ. 

Each  of  these  sects  had  grouped  themselves  about  men. 
Some  around  Paul,  some  around  Apollos,  others  followed 
Peter,  and  there  were  those  who  controversially  claimed 
to  be  the  true  representatives  of  Christ,  but  undoubtedly 
held  to  their  distinction,  not  through  the  spirit  of  Christ, 
but  through  the  special' teaching  of  some  leader,  certainly 
antagonistic  to  Paul.  Each  of  these  sects  was  boasting 
itself  against  the  other.  There  were  those  who  said  they 
were  identified  with  the  Christianity  of  Paul,  those  who 
saw  Christianity  as  the  eloquence  of  Apollos  portrayed  it, 
others  who  were  convinced  that  Peter  with  his  leaning  to 
Judaism  was  the  true  exponent  of  the  faith,  and  those 
who  with  wrangling  and  anger  persisted  that  they  were 
best  entitled  to  wear  the  name  of  the  Christ ;  so  great  was 
this  controversial  division  in  Corinth  that  Paul  asks  with 
a  far  reaching  question  whether  indeed  Christ  has  been 
divided  among  them ;  whether  it  is  Paul  who  has  been 
crucified  and  if,  in  their  baptismal  confession,  they  were 
baptized  in  the  name  of  Paul? 

In  the  next  chapter,  3 :  1-4,  he  continues  to  speak  of  this 
shameful  condition.  He  says  that  the  strife,  the  bickering 
and  party  spirit  were  so  multiplied  and  bitter,  that  he 
could  not  deal  with  them  on  spiritual  ground  at  all, 
he  could  deal  with  them  only  as  those  who  were  in  the 
flesh,  and  whom  he  calls  babes,  mere  helpless  infants, 
swept  by  emotions,  sensations,  and  not  governed  by  prin- 
ciple or  truth. 


68  THE   COMING   OF  CHRIST 

Their  spiritual  weakness  was  so  great  that  he  had  not 
given  them  the  strong  meat  of  advanced  doctrine  but  had 
fed  them  on  milk,  the  a,  b,  c,  of  the  Gospel.  Even  now 
they  were  unable  to  bear  what  he  was  commissioned  of 
God  to  write  them. 

There  are  those  who  look  upon  the  sects,  and  denomi- 
national divisions  in  the  church,  as  a  sort  of  a  God-send,, 
as  a  healthy  sign,  a  satisfactory  recognition  of,  and  a  le- 
gitimate ministration  to,  the  different  characteristics  and 
temperaments  in  the  Christian  life;  that  the  denomina- 
tions are  a  logical  and  divinely  inspired  blessing,  a  perfect 
and  fitting  instrumentality  with  which  to  meet  universally 
varying  conditions  in  the  humanity  of  the  church,  and  to 
fulfill  the  obligation  of  the  whole  truth,  each  denomina- 
tion being  foreordained  to  take  up  some  particular  side  of 
truth,  and  emphasize  it,  where  under  ordinary  and  gen- 
eral circumstances,  it  would  be  unobserved  or  neglected ; 
that,  in  short,  the  differing  denominations  are  like  the 
divisions  in  an  army;  they  have  their  distinct  corps  and 
division  badges;  they  occupy  different  positions  along 
the  line,  and  have  distinct  and  special  work;  they  all 
march,  in  spite  of  their  varying  formations,  under  the 
great  commander,  and  when  the  battle  for  the  right  is 
over  will  rendezvous  in  the  city  of  God  and  take  part  in 
the  great  review  before  the  one  eternal  King  who  loves 
and  will  reward  them  all. 

Such  sentiments  are  always  more  or  less  popular,  and 
as  an  argument  for  denominational  distinctions  and  Scrip- 
tural support  of  them,  are  supposed  to  be  invulnerable. 

But  over  against  all  this  concept  the  Apostle  Paul 
places  his  own  inspired  testimony.  He  declares  that  so 
far  from  these  divisions  being  an  indication  of  health  or 


COURSE  OF  PROFESSING  CHURCH       69 

upward  movement  in  the  spiritual  life,  they  are  an  infal- 
lible witness  of  carnality  and  unspirituality.     He  asks : 

"  For  whereas  there  is  among  you  envying,  strife,  and 
divisions,  are  ye  not  carnal,  and  walk  as  men  ?    For  while 
one  saith,  I  am  of  Paul ;  and  another,  I  am  of  Apollos ; 
'are  ye  not  carnal?  "  3:3,  4. 

[  Calling  oneself  by  the  name  of  a  leader,  and  standing 
for  party,  for  sect,  for  denominationalism,  according  to 
Paul,  is  a  sign,  not  of  spirituality,  but  of  the  most  intense 
carnality ;  so  that,  instead  of  speaking  of  such  as  walking 
in  Christ,  he  speaks  of  them  walking  "  as  men,"  that  is, 
''  in  the  flesh."      ' 

And  this  was  the  character  and  condition  of  the  pro- 
fessing church  at  Corinth,  the  church  which  Paul  had 
planted  with  his  own  hand.  And  looking  forward  to  that 
hour  when  the  Christ  of  God  shall  come  to  sum  up  the 
work  of  the  church  in  this  age,  the  Apostle  finds  that  at 
the  judgment  seat  where  all  Christian  work  will  come 
into  review,  not  only  will  there  be  those  in  the  Christian 
church  who  shall  receive  a  reward,  and  others  who  shall 
suffer  loss,  finding  no  reward,  but  that  there  will  be  a 
material  built  into  the  professing  church  described  as 
wood,  hay  and  stubble,  the  wood,  hay  and  stubble  of  mere 
profession  whose  only  end  is  to  be  burned  in  the  fire.  It 
is  the  terrific  declaration  that  at  the  close  of  this  dispensa- 
tion when  the  Lord  comes,  the  professing  church  will  be 
great  in  bulk,  but  insignificant  in  value,  lacking  in  the 
jewelry  fit  for  the  King's  diadem,  but  abounding  in  the 
stubble  fit  only  for  destruction ;  lacking  in  the  gold,  silver 
and  precious  stones  fit  for  the  King's  palace,  and  of  qual- 
ity endurable,  but  abounding  in  that  which  never  enters 
a  king's  palace,  and  is  of  quality  inflammable.    Not  only 


70  THE   COMING   OF   CHRIST 

so;  but  that  among  those  who  are  saved,  there  will  be 
such  whose  salvation  is  as  by  fire,  through  fire.  Just  as 
Lot  for  the  sake  of  another  was  brought  out  of  Sodom 
even  while  sparks  of  the  seething  fire  were  falling,  and 
carried  with  him  the  smell  of  the  smoke  upon  his  gar- 
ments, leaving  behind  him  the  ashes  of  his  fruitless  labor, 
so  will  there  be  Christians  who,  being  saved  alone  for  the 
sake  of  the  covenant  faithfulness  of  God  and  His  pledge 
to  "  Another "  that  all  who  should  confess  His  name 
should  be  saved,  will  come  forth  from  the  blazing  hour 
of  that  approaching  judgment  with  the  smell  of  the 
smoke  upon  their  garments  of  glory,  if  not  the  scorch 
of  fire  upon  their  immortal  bodies.  In  other  words,  like 
Lot,  there  will  be  Christians  saved  because,  they  are 
burned  out. 

Certainly,  neither  the  sketch  of  denominational  con- 
troversy as  seen  in  the  opening  chapter,  nor  yet  the  horo- 
scope of  the  professing  church  and  its  imperfect  service 
as  revealed  in  the  light  of  the  judgment  seat  of  Christ, 
gives  any  intimation  of  a  church  advancing  along  high 
and  spiritual  lines  to  the  final  triumph  of  the  Gospel  and 
the  subjugation  of  the  rebel  world.  In  the  eleventh 
chapter  from  the  17th  to  the  22d  verse,  the  Apostle  again 
refers  to  the  matter  of  divisions.  He  says  he  has  heard 
that  when  they  come  together  there  is  the  controversy 
of  sects  among  them.  He  finds  that  they  have  so  far 
lost  sight  of  the  spiritual  and  doctrinal  intent  of  the 
Lord's  Supper,  that  they  have  turned  it  into  a  common 
meal,  into  a  feast  to  satisfy  bodily  hunger;  that  there 
is  not  only  the  expression  of  natural  hunger,  but  rude- 
ness and  bad  manners  in  the  very  act  of  eating  it;  that 
some  had  so  completely  departed  from. the  purpose  of 
that  table  that  they  had  turned  it  into  an  occasion  of 


COURSE  OF  PROFESSING  CHURCH       71 

drunkenness.  This  of  itself  is  a  confirmation  of  all  the 
Apostle  says  touching  the  carnality  of  the  sectarians. 

But  turn  to  the  fourteenth  chapter  and  twenty-sixth 
verse  and  we  shall  see  the  manner  and  way  in  which  the 
meetings  for  testimony  were  carried  on ;  that  is  to  say, 
the  degree  of  harmony  and  spiritual  power  manifested 
among  them.  "  When  ye  come  together,"  says  the  Apos- 
tle, "  every  one  of  you  hath  a  psalm,  hath  a  doctrine,  hath 
a  tongue,  hath  a  revelation,  hath  an  interpretation." 

Here  is  confusion,  discord,  not  peace  and  order. 

And  how  did  the  Apostle  himself,  he  to  whom  the 
Lord  had  made  special  revelation,  how  did  he  stand  in  this 
apostolic  church  ?  The  answer  may  be  found  in  2  Corin- 
thians 12  115  :  "  The  more  abundantly  I  love  you,  the  less 
I  be  loved." 

Standing  there  in  the  name  of  an  absent  Lord,  the 
channel  of  the  divine  communication,  giving  his  life  and 
substance  in  unselfish  devotion  to  them  daily,  refusing  to 
take  any  compensation  from  them  lest  they  might  charge 
him  with  being  mercenary,  this  church  turns  upon  him, 
forces  him  to  be  an  apologist  for  his  own  character  and 
office,  and  does  this  because  of  his  faithfulness  to  them 
before  God.  He  declares  that  among  them  are  debates, 
envyings,  wraths,  strifes,  backbitings,  whisperings, 
swellings,  tumults. 

What  words  are  these!  what  force  they  have  when 
fully  examined! 

Debates!  The  word  signifies  wranglings,  and  sug- 
gests the  idea,  not  of  calm  and  orderly  discussion,  but 
hard  and  bitter  speech,  epithets,  brawling. 

Envyings!  Jealousy!  the  word  comes  from  a  verb 
which  signifies  to  boil,  to  be  hot.  It  is  the  description  of 
spirits  in  ferment,  one  violently  opposed  to  the  other. 


^2,  THE   COMING    OF   CHRIST 

Wraths!  The  word  means  to  rush!  It  gives  us  the 
picture  of  persons  rushing  about  in  a  tumult  of  anger. 

Strifes!  The  contentions  of  party  spirit  and  party 
hate. 

Backbitings!     Detractions. 

Whisperings!  The  whisper  that  calumniates,  that  sug- 
gests evil  of  another. 

Tumults!    The  spirit  of  mobbery  and  riot. 

Into  this  church  the  Apostle  hesitates  to  come,  lest  he 
shall  find  among  the  members  those  who  have  been  guilty 
of  uncleanness,  fornication,  lasciviousness ;  and  worst  of 
all !  that  they  had  never  even  dreamed  of  repenting  their 
evil,  but,  rather,  had  turned  sin  as  a  sweet  morsel  under 
their  tongue.  Can  a  more  frightful  picture  be  given  of  a 
state  of  morals?  and  this,  let  it  be  remembered,  in  a  re- 
ligious body,  and  that  body  an  apostolic  church?  Is  it 
possible  in  view  of  such  a  picture  to  deny  the  corruption 
of  the  professing  church,  or  that  the  tares  had  been  in- 
troduced among  the  wheat  at  Corinth? 

At  the  beginning,  the  power  and  presence  of  the  Spirit 
were  so  manifest  in  the  church  in  Jerusalem  that  the 
slightest  infringement  of  the  truth  brought  down  swift 
judgment  from  God.  So  intense  and  real  was  this  pres- 
ence that  the  unregenerate  did  not  dare  to  enter  or 
assume  the  role  of  the  Christly  profession;  as  it  is 
written : 

"  And  of  the  rest  durst  no  man  join  himself  unto  them." 
Acts  5 :  13. 

'''  Joining  the  church ''  had  not  at  that  time  come  into 
vogue ;  souls  were  "  joined  to  the  Lord  " ;  and  he  that 
was  joined  to  the  Lord  was  "  one  spirit." 

But  the  barrier  had  been  broken  down  here,  broken 
down  to  such  a  degree,  that  not  only  had  the  false  and 


COURSE  OF  PROFESSING  CHURCH       73 

corrupt  entered  in,  but  even  the  children  of  the  kingdom 
had  fallen  away. 

He  who  reads  this  story  engraved  faithfully  by  the 
Spirit  of  God  will  find  little  indication  or  hope  that  the 
church  of  the  future  would  become  purer  and  stronger, 
the  farther  it  traveled  away  from  apostolic  care  and  nur- 
ture, or  that  such  a  church  could  possibly  have  within  it 
the  seeds  of  millennial  conquest  and  triumph  ready  to 
burst  into  a  harvest  and  victory  before  the  Lord's  return. 

Recognizing  these  conditions  as  obtaining  in  the  hour 
of  full  apostolic  ministiiy,  even  the  most  optimistic  enthu- 
siast would  hardly  anticipate  an  improvement  in  propor- 
tion as  the  distance  from  such  a  beginning  was  increased. 

Let  us  now  turn  to  Paul's  letter  to  the  Galatians. 

A  careful  reading  of  this  letter  will  show  that  judaizing 
teachers  had  come  in  and  insisted  that  the  Gentile  con- 
verts who  had  never  known  the  law  of  Moses,  to  whom 
it  had  never  been  given,  should  be  put  under  it  and  the 
ceremonial  obligations  which  it  included.  They  demanded 
that  the  Gentiles  should  be  circumcised,  keep  sabbath 
days,  feast  days  and  new  moons ;  they  had  gone  so  far  as 
to  demand  that  Titus,  being  a  Greek,  should  be  circum- 
cised. 

Paul  places  on  record  the  fact  that  he  had  been  forced 
to  take  Peter  to  account  for  his  double  dealing,  standing 
for  grace,  as  he  did,  at  Antioch,  and  for  law,  at  Jeru- 
salem. In  keen  and  flashing  language  he  declares  that 
this  mixed  Gospel  of  law  and  grace  is  not  God's  Gospel 
at  all,  and  in  terrible  words  he  puts  an  anathema  on  those 
who  preach  or  defend  it,  saying  that  such  should  be  ac- 
cursed when  the  Lord  comes.  He  takes  the  Galatians  to 
task  for  having  begun  in  the  Spirit,  and  now  seeking  to 
make  themselves  perfect  in  the  flesh.    He  insists  that  they 


74  THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST 

are  "  bewitched,"  and  that  this  "  persuasion,"  this  legal- 
ism, does  not  come  from  any  teaching  of  his,  nor  from 
God;  that  it  is  like  leaven,  that  it  is  leavening  and  cor- 
rupting the  whole  lump ;  then  he  says : 

"  I  stand  in  doubt  of  you."    Galatians  4 :20. 

Is  there  any  evidence  here  that  this  church,  under  the 
benefit  of  Apostolic  presidency,  was  moving  forward 
along  lines  that  would  conduct  to  Millennial  triumph? 

In  the  Ephesian  church  the  Apostle  tells  us  there  were 
some  who  had  been  guilty  of  theft ;  that  bitterness,  wrath, 
anger  and  clamor,  evil  speaking  and  malice  had  been  rife. 
Ephesians  4:28,  31. 

But  listen  to  the  testimony  which  he  gives  concerning 
the  church  at  Philippi.    He  says : 

"  All  seek  their  own,  not  the  things  which  are  Jesus 
Christ's."    Philippians  2:21. 

In  the  third  chapter,  verses  18,  19,  he  writes : 

*'  For  many  walk,  of  whom  I  have  told  you  often,  and 
now  tell  you  even  weeping,  that  they  are  the  enemies  of 
the  cross  of  Christ ;  whose  end  is  destruction,  whose  God 
is  their  belly,  and  whose  glory  is  in  their  shame,  who 
mind  earthly  things." 

Here,  indeed,  is  a  startling  condition  of  things  in  a  pro- 
fessed church  of  Christ,  enemies  of  the  cross  of  Christ! 
Facing  the  world  in  order  to  conquer  it  with  this  cross, 
the  church  finds  that  its  enemies  have  not  only  not  been 
overthrown,  but  have  obtained  an  entering  place,  a  shelter 
in  the  church  itself,  and  are  so  at  home,  so  secure,  and  in 
such  perfect  fellowship  with  a  multitude  within,  that  an 
Apostle  again  and  again  speaking  of  the  scandal  and  the 
shame,  finds  his  speech  so  ineffective,  his  helplessness  so 
great,  that  he  is  led  to  tears.  Even  the  church  at  Thessa- 
lonica,  the  model  church  of  the  New  Testament,  had  in  it 


COURSE  OF  PROFESSING  CFIURCH       75 

those  who  walked  disorderly  and  were  busybodies.  2 
Thessalonians  3:11. 

We  now  pass  to  the  general  epistle  written  to  Timothy, 
Paul's  son  in  the  faith.  Here,  if  anywhere,  we  shall  find 
the  outHnes  of  the  professing  church,  both  as  to  present 
and  to  future ;  for,  in  these  letters,  the  Apostle  is  writing 
to  an  apostolic  delegate,  a  brother  minister  in  the  truth. 

At  the  outset  he  asserts  that  some  have  "  swerved," 
have  become  teachers  of  false  doctrine ;  that  some  have 
made  "  shipwreck  of  faith,"  among  whom  he  notes  two 
by  name,  Hymeneus  and  Alexander;  then  in  the  fourth 
chapter  he  tells  Timothy  what  may  be  expected  in  the 
church  if  the  Lord  should  tarry.    He  writes : 

"  Now  the  Spirit  speaketh  expressly,  that  in  the  latter 
times  some  shall  depart  from  the  faith,  giving  heed  to 
seducing  spirits,  and  doctrines  of  devils  (demons)  ;  speak- 
ing lies  in  hypocrisy;  having  their  conscience  seared  zvith 
a  hot  iron;  forbidding  to  marry,  and  commanding  to  ab- 
stain from  meats,  which  God  hath  created  to  be  received 
with  thanksgiving  of  them  which  believe  and  know  the 
truth."     I  Timothy  4:1-3. 

As  though  the  Spirit  foresaw  there  would  be  failure  to 
read  the  coincident  signs  of  the  times  aright.  He  speaks 
"  expressly  " ;  that  is,  in  selected,  particularly  chosen,  and 
emphatic  words  concerning  the  to-morrow  of  the  profess- 
ing church,  if  the  Lord  in  His  wisdom  should  see  fit  to 
withhold  His  Coming. 

Thus  the  Spirit  of  God  speaking  through  Paul  fore- 
sees: 

1.  A  departure  from  the  faith,  an  apostasy. 

2.  Seducing  spirits,  "  wandering  "  spirits  ;  by  means  of 
these  wandering  spirits  the  church  will  be  filled  with  the 
doctrine  of  demons ;  there  will  be  everywhere  the  spread 


76  THE   COMING   OF   CHRIST 

of  "  spiritism,"  the  endeavor  to  communicate  with  the 
dead. 

3.  There  will  be  lying  and  hypocrisy  in  the  church. 

4.  Professed  .  Christians  will  have  their  conscience 
"  seared,"  cauterized  as  with  a  hot  iron. 

5.  The  marriage  institution  will  be  assailed. 

6.  The  doctrine  of  fasts  will  be  introduced. 

Two  doctrines  are  clearly  and  prophetically  outlined  in 
this  forecast: 

1.  Celibacy.  .  ^ 

2.  Asceticism. 

One  general  word  expresses  the  horoscope: 

Apostasy!  desertion!  revolt  against  the  faith  once 
delivered  to  the  saints. 

In  the  fifth  chapter  the  Apostle  declares  that  some  "  are 
already  turned  aside  after  Satan."    Verse  15. 

In  his  second  epistle  to  Timothy  he  draws  attention  to 
false  teachers  in  the  midst  of  the  church.  They  have 
been  stirring  up  discussion  and  vain  and  profane  bab- 
blings; their  speech  and  their  doctrine  are  like  a  canker 
in  the  assembly,  eating  into  the  heart  of  faith  and  leading 
to  ungodliness.  He  mentions  two  of  these  teachers  spe- 
cially, Hymeneus  and  Philetus,  who  had  been  teaching 
that  the  resurrection,  that  is  the  first,  was  already  past; 
and  overthrew  the  faith  of  some.    2  Timothy  2:16-18. 

He  compares  the  professing  church  to  a  *'  great  house  " 
in  which  there  are  vessels  of  dishonor  as  well  as  honor, 
and  declares  that. in  order  to  be  a  true  servant  used  of 
God  in  this  great  house  of  profession,  it  will  be  necessary 
to  separate  oneself,  not  so  much  from  the  world,  as 
from  those  professing  Christians  who  are  vessels  of 
dishonor. 

Because  of  the  foolish  and  unlearned  questions  which 


COURSE  OF  PROFESSING  CHURCH       77 

are  rising  on  every  side  he  cautions  the  young  preacher 
to  be  continually  on  his  guard.    2  Timothy  2 :20,  23. 

In  the  third  chapter  he  gives  a  revelation  of  the  possible 
course  of  the  age  and  the  professing  church  in  it. 

The  Christian  profession  will  become  a  mere  for- 
mahsm;  there  will  enter  into  the  church  those  who 
shall  have  "  a  form  of  godliness,  but  denying  the 
power  thereof  " ;  as  the  power  of  all  true  godliness  is  in 
the  Holy  Ghost,  these  professors  will  have  an  outward 
decency  that  is  of  the  flesh  but  not  the  Spirit.  There  will 
be  those  among  church  members  who  shall  be,  "  lovers  of 
their  own  selves,  covetous,  boasters,  proud,  blasphemers, 
disobedient  to  parents,  unthankful,  unholy,  without 
natural  affection,  trucebreakers,  false  accusers,  inconti- 
nent, fierce,  despisers  of  those  that  are  good,  traitors, 
heady,  highminded,  lovers  of  pleasure  more  than  lovers 
of  God." 

These  men  will  be  not  only  members  of  the  church, 
but  they  will  be  the  leaders;  they  will  insinuate  them- 
selves into  the  social  life,  "  creep  into  houses  "  and  lead 
captive  the  "  silly  women  "  whose  only  concept  of  useful- 
ness in  the  church  of  Christ  is  the  round  of  butterfly 
fashion  and  social  entertainment  by  which  they  will  ex- 
pect to  hold  the  restless  elements  of  the  church  together. 
Although  God  shall  put  His  restraining  hand  upon  these 
teachers  and  their  folly  shall  be  made  manifest  as  was 
the  folly  and  helplessness  of  Jannes  and  Jambres  who 
withstood  Moses  with  their  demon  inspired  imitations  of 
God's  work,  yet  others  will  take  their  place  and  create 
such  a  sentiment  against  "  spirituality  "  that  all  who  will 
endeavor  to  "  live  godly  in  Christ  Jesus  shall  suffer  per- 
secution," while  "  evil  men  and  seducers  shall  wax  worse 
and  worse,  deceiving  and  being  deceived/'    Verse  13. 


78  THE   COMING    OF   CHRIST. 

In  the  fourth  chapter  the  Apostle  declares  that  the  time 
will  come,  not  only  when  those  who  profess  Christ  will 
not  fulfill  the  doctrine  in  their  life,  but  who  will  refuse 
to  tolerate  sound  doctrine  at  all;  filled  with  their  fleshly 
lusts  and  the  determination  of  their  own  worldliness,  they 
will  seek  teachers  of  a  like  mind  who  will  preach  and 
teach  to  suit  them.  They  will  have  "  itching  "  ears.  The 
expression  really  signifies  ears  that  like  to  be  tickled, 
ears  that  have  an  itching  for  pleasurable  excitement, 
ears  that  are  listening  for  what  is  agreeable  always. 
The  qualifying  word  "  sound  "  used  for  "  doctrine  "  is 
"  uncorrupted."  The  meaning  is  that  the  time  would  come 
when  Christians  would  not  accept  any  doctrine  that  was 
not  corrupted  or  adulterated ;  that  they  would  seek  those 
preachers  and  teachers  who  could  tickle  their  ears  with 
pleasant  and  agreeable  doctrines ;  being  lovers  of  pleas- 
ures more  than  lovers  of  God,  they  would  want  the  ser- 
mon to  continue  on  the  Lord's  day  the  excitement,  the 
amusement,  and  the  fleshly  interests  of  the  week.  The 
evil  work  would  deepen ;  yielding  to  such  influence  and 
invoking  such  "  instruction,"  the  people  would  turn  away 
from  the  Word  of  God,  and  being  turned  from  that, 
would  be  turned  to  fables  and  myths,  to  the  inspiration, 
reasoning,  and  poor  wisdom  of  men.  They  would  be 
more  interested  in  a  story  coming  from  the  imagination 
of  man,  seasoned  with  the  spice  of  human  genius,  than  in 
the  revelation  of  a  God  enforced  by  the  breath  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.  In  passing,  the  Apostle  speaks  of  defection 
on  the  one  side  and  hindrance  on  the  other.  Demas  had 
deserted  him  because  he  loved  this  present  evil  world, 
and,  Alexander,  the  coppersmith,  had  withstood  his 
preaching.    2  Timothy  4:10,  14,  15. 

In  writing  to  Titus  he  draws  attention  to  the  "  many 


COURSE  OF  PROFESSING  CHURCH       79 

unruly  and  vain  talkers  .  .'  .  who  subvert  whole 
houses,  teaching  things  which  they  ought  not,  for  filthy 
lucre's  sake."    Titus  i :  10-14. 

There  are  those,  he  says,  in  the  church,  who  "  profess 
that  they  know  God ;  but  in  works  they  deny  Him,  being 
abominable,  and  disobedient,  and  unto  every  good  work 
reprobate."    Verse  16. 

In  his  epistle  to  the  Hebrews  he  takes  occasion  to  show 
that  those  Christians  had  degenerated  from  the  day  of 
their  profession  and  become  such  as  "  have  need  of  milk, 
and  not  strong  meat."    Hebrews  5  :i2. 

In  the  tenth  chapter  and  twenty-fifth  verse  of  the  same 
epistle  he  gives  a  bit  of  church  history,  showing  that  in 
apostolic  times  the  sin  of  "  absenteeism "  had  become 
painfully  marked ;  that  the  manner  of  some  was  "  to 
forsake  the  assembling  of  themselves  together." 

Such,  in  sum,  is  the  testimony  of  the  Apostle  Paul  to 
the  course  and  character  of  the  professing  church  in  this 
world. 

Gathering  together  what  he  has  said,  his  teaching 
makes  manifest  that  the  church  would  be  broken  up  into 
sects,  schisms,  factious  denominations  and  parties;  that 
it  would  become  great  in  natural  bulk  but  of  little  weight 
in  divine  values.  False  doctrine  would  pervade.  There 
would  be  general  apostasy.  Filled  with  formalism  and 
refusing  to  endure  sound  doctrine,  the  church  would  give 
preference  and  honor  to  the  teacher  who  should  tickle 
their  ears  and  amuse  them,  until,  at  last,  instead  of  re- 
maining the  depositary  of  the  truth,  the  church  would 
become  the  center  for  the  preaching  and  teaching  of  the 
fables  and  myths  of  human  invention,  the  analyses,  the 
criticisms  and  denial  of  the  revelation  of  God. 


THE  COURSE  OF   THE   PROFESSING 
CHURCH    IN    THIS    AGE 

(The  Testimony  of  the  Apostles  Peter, 
James,  Jude,  John.) 


"THERE  SHALL  COME  IN  THE  LAST  DAYS  SCOF- 
FERS *  *  *  SAYING,  WHERE  IS  THE  PROMISE  OF 
HIS  COMING?"— 2  Peter  3:3-4. 

"  THERE  ARE  CERTAIN  MEN  CREPT  IN  UNAWARES 
*  *  *  TURNING  THE  GRACE  OF  OUR  GOD  INTO 
LASCIVIOUSNESS,  AND  DENYING  THE  ONLY  LORD 
GOD,  AND  OUR  LORD  JESUS  CHRIST."— Jude  4. 

"MANY  DECEIVERS  ARE  ENTERED  INTO  THE 
WORLD,  WHO  CONFESS  NOT  THAT  JESUS  CHRIST  IS 
COME  [IS  COMING]  IN  THE  FLESH."— John  2:7. 


CHAPTER   VIII 

Cije  Course  of  tfie  Professing  Cfiurcl) 

in  tfiis  age 

(The  Testimony  of  the  Apostles  Peter,  James,  Jude, 

John.) 

In  the  second  chapter  of  his  epistle,  verse  2,  the  Apostle 
James  asserts  that  the  "  brethren  "  have  not  the  faith  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  that  they  are  "  partial,"  and  have 
"  despised  the  poor."  He  declares  that  they  ask  and  re- 
ceive not  (chapter  4)  because  they  ask  "amiss";  that 
they  may  consume  it  upon  their  lusts. 

He  addresses  certain  ones  who  profess  the  name  of 
Christ,  but  who  repudiate  separation  from  the  world  and 
calls  them  "  adulterers  and  adulteresses,"  assuring  them 
that  the  "  friendship  of  the  world  is  enmity  with  God." 
He  speaks  of  "  sinners "  in  the  midst  who  need  to 
"  cleanse "  their  hands  and  "  who  rejoice  in  their 
boastings." 

The  Apostle  Peter  in  his  general  epistle  writes  that  in 
the  coming  days  there  will  be : 

1.  False  teachers  in  the  midst. 

2.  The  introduction  of  damnable  heresies. 

3.  The  truth  of  God  shall  be  defamed. 

4.  Many  shall  be  led  astray.    2  Peter  2:1,  2.  ; 
There  will  be  those, 

1.  Who  have  eyes  full  of  adultery. 

2.  Who  cannot  cease  from  sin. 

3.  Who  will  forsake  the  right  way. 

4.  Who  will  go  astray. 

83 


84  THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST 

5.  Who  will  love  the  wages  of  unrighteousness. 

6.  Who  will  speak  great,  swelling  words  of  vanity. 

7.  They  will  allure  through  the  lusts  of  the  flesh. 

8.  They  will  promise  liberty  and  themselves  be  the 
slaves  of  corruption. 

9.  They  will  not  be  the  sheep  of  Christ,  but  the  dogs 
that  turn  to  their  vomit,  and  the  sozt's  that  wallow  in  the 
mire.    2  Peter  2  :  14-22. 

In  the  last  days  there  will  be : 

1.  Lustful  scoffers. 

2.  These  scoffers  will  mock  and  make  light  of  the 
Lord's  return.    2  Peter  3:3,  4. 

The  latter  outline  is  the  prophecy  that  the  church 
which  was  called  to  walk  In  separation  from  the  world 
and  in  daily  denial  of  the  way  of  the  flesh,  will,  like  the 
mustard  seed,  ground  itself  more  and  more  into  the 
region  of  that  which  is  earth,  more  and  more  yield  to  the 
demands  of  the  world  and  the  desires  of  the  flesh,  resent- 
ing and  resisting  with  bitterness  the  doctrine  that  He 
who  is  the  Head  and  Master  of  all  should  even  think  of 
coming  back.  Just  as  a  faithless  wife,  content  with  the 
joys  and  pleasures  procured  from  another  in  the  absence 
of  her  husband,  would  resent  and  resist  any  attempt  to 
awaken  and  arouse  her  to  the  fact  and  the  hope  that  her 
own  husband  might  return,  so  the  church,  filled  with  the 
lust  of  earth  and  the  pride  of  flesh,  content  with  this 
world  and  the  progress  In  it,  would  refuse  all  teaching  or 
any  suggestion  that  might  lead  her  to  look  and  hope  for 
the  Coming  of  the  Lord. 

Saint  John  announces  that  there  would  arise  those  who 
should  deny  the  Incarnation.    He  writes : 

"  Every  spirit  that  confesseth  not  that  Jesus  Christ  is 
come  in  the  Hesh,  is  not  of  God ;  and  this  is  that  spirit  of 


COURSE  OF  PROFESSING  CHURCH       85 

Antichrist,  whereof  ye  have  heard  that  it  should  come; 
and  even  now  already  is  it  in  the  world."    i  John  4 :  3. 

In  his  second  epistle  the  Apostle  testifies  that  many  de- 
ceivers are  entered  into  the  world,  whose  special  effort  it 
is  to  deny  Jesus  Christ  coming  in  the  -flesh.    Verse  7. 

In  I  John  4 : 3,  there  is  a  denial  that  Jesus  Christ  has 
come — in  the  flesh.  The  word  is  elrjXuOoTa)  this  is  the 
accusative,  singular,  masculine  participle  and  second  per- 
fect from  epxo/xat,  to  come,  having  come.  The  denial, 
therefore,  is  a  denial  of  the  Incarnation. 

In  2  John  7,  there  is  a  denial  that  Jesus  Christ  is 
coming  again  in  the  flesh. 

Here  the  word  is  ipxofievov;  this  is  the  present  partici- 
ple from  epxo/xac  and  should  read,  is  coming.  The  denial 
in  this  case,  therefore,  is  a  denial  of  the  Second  Coming 
of  our  Lord. 

In  his  third  epistle  he  opens  still  further  the  page  of 
church  history  in  his  own  times  and  puts  on  record  that, 
called  Apostle  as  he  was,  he  had  been  refused  admission 
into  an  assembly  of  Christ  because  of  a  Diotrephes  who 
loved  to  have  the  pre-eminence.  This  man  had  exalted 
himself  in  the  church,  denied  the  Apostle,  "  prated " 
against  him  with  malicious  words,  refused  the  fellowship 
of  many  Christians  and  excommunicated  others. 

Saint  Jude  writes  a  short  epistle.  It  contains  but 
twenty-five  verses,  but  these  are  crowded  with  import. 

The  fourth  verse  is  pregnant  with  meaning: 

"  For  there  are  certain  men  crept  in  unawares  ,  .  . 
ungodly  men,  turning  the  grace  of  our  God  into  lascivi- 
ousness,  and  denying  the  only  Lord  God,  and  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ." 

I.  Certain  men  crept  In  unawares,  coming  in  silently, 
not  attracting  attention !    How  like  an  echo  of  the  parable 


86  THE   COMING   OF   CHRIST 

of  the  wheat  and  tares ;  where  the  tares  were  secretly 
introduced  while  men  slept. 

2.  Ungodly  men  turning  the  grace  of  God  into  lascivi- 
ousness ;  continuing  in  sin  because  God  is  dealing  in 
grace;  giving  liberty  and  license  to  the  flesh  on  the  pro- 
fessed ground  that  all  sins  of  the  flesh  have  been  antici- 
patively  answered  for  in  the  death  of  the  cross.  Ungodly 
men.  Children  of  the  Devil ;  again  a  restatement  and  a 
fulfillment  of  the  parable  of  the  tares. 

3.  Denying  the  only  Lord  God,  even  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  Rejecting  the  deity  of  the  Son!  False  doctrine! 
leaven  working  in  the  church ;  leavening  the  lump.  These 
men  are: 

1.  Filthy  dreamers.  , 

2.  They  defile  the  flesh. 

3.  They  despise  dominion. 

4.  They  speak  evil  of  dignities. 

5.  They  are  spots  in  the  feast  of  Christian  love. 

6.  They  are  clouds  without  water. 

7.  They  are  trees  with  withered  fruit,  twice  dead  and 
plucked  up  by  the  roots. 

8.  They  are  raging  waves  of  the  sea. 

9.  They  foam  out  their  own  shame. 

10.  They  are  wandering  stars  going  into  blackness 
of  darkness  forever. 

Jude  quotes  Saint  Peter  and  thus  sustains  him.  He 
says,  verses  17,  18: 

"  But  beloved,  remember  ye  the  words  which  were 
spoken  before  of  the  Apostles  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ; 
how  that  they  told  you  there  should  be  mockers  in  the 
last  time,  who  should  walk  after  their  own  ungodly  lusts. 
[See  2  Peter  3 :  3.]  These  be  they  who  separate  them- 
selves, sensual;,  having  not  the  Spirit" 


COURSE  OF  PROFESSING  CHURCH       87 

The  motto  of  Saint  Jude  is  clearly  and  distinctly : 
"  Remember  the  words  which  zvere  spoken  before." 
Remember  that  the  church  would  be  filled  with  ungodly 
men,  mockers,  those  who  walked  after  their  own  lusts, 
false  teachers,  turning  every  liberty  of  grace  into  an 
occasion  for  sin  and  so  filling  the  church  with  falsehood 
in  doctrine  and  shame  in  practice  that  it  would  be  neces- 
sary earnestly  to  "  contend  for  the  faith  which  was  once 
delivered  unto  the  saints."    Verse  3. 

With  one  accord  the  five  Apostles  testify  that  the  pro- 
fession of  Christ  in  this  age  will  become  corrupt  and 
depart  from  the  faith. 

Nowhere  do  they  even  intimate  that  the  church  will 
arise  and  cast  out  the  unclean,  exalt  the  testimony  of  God, 
lift  up  a  standard  against  the  wicked,  overcome  sin  and 
lawlessness,  and  at  last  bruising  Satan,  bind  him,  and 
then  hand  up  the  kingdom  full  of  praise  to  a  coming 
King. 


THE  COURSE  OF  THE   PROFESSING 
CHURCH    IN   THIS   AGE 

(The  Specific  Testimony  of  Saint  John.) 


"  I  SAW  A  WOMAN  SIT  UPON  A  SCARLET-COLORED 
BEAST  *  *  *  DRUNKEN  WITH  THE  BLOOD  OF  THE 
MARTYRS  OF  JESUS."— Revelation  17:3-6. 

"  SHE  SAITH  IN  HER  HEART,  I  SIT  A  QUEEN  AND 
AM  NO  WIDOW    *    *    * 


>» 


"  SHE  SHALL  BE  UTTERLY  BURNED  WITH  FIRE."— 
Revelation  18:7,  8. 


CHAPTER    IX 

Cfte  Cout0e  of  tfie  profeis^ins  Cfturct) 

in  tl)i0  age 

(The  Specific  Testimony  of  Saint  John.) 

Saint  John  was  one  of  the  "  three  mighties  "  who 
walked  with  the  Lord  in  the  days  of  His  flesh ;  he  was 
with  Him  in  the  Mount,  he  lay  in  His  bosom  and,  above 
all  others,  has  received  the  distinctive  title  as  "  that 
disciple  whom  the  Lord  loved." 

It  was  fitting  that  the  man  who  had  leaned  upon  the 
breast  of  God's  Son  and  heard  the  inmost  beating  of  His 
heart,  should  become  the  final  depositary  of  His  most 
intimate  thought  in  respect  to  the  course  of  the  church 
in  this  age. 

And  such  is  the  case. 

To  him  the  Lord  has  given  a  picture  of  church  devel- 
opment in  principle  and  detail  while  He  is  away. 

This  picture  is  to  be  found  in  the  book  of  the  Revela- 
tion; and  that  book  opens  with  the  suggestive  declara- 
tion : 

*'  The  Revelation  of  Jesus  Christ,  which  God  gave  unto 
Him,  to  show  unto  His  servants  things  which  must 
shortly  come  to  pass ;  and  He  sent  and  signified  it  by  His 
angel  unto  His  servant  John." 

Not  only  this,  but  the  risen  and  ascended  Lord  ac- 
tually descends  in  a  vision  of  glory  to  the  lonely  isle  of 
Patmos,  and  there  meeting  His  startled  disciple,  gives 
him  a  communication  concerning  the  church,  command- 

91 


92  THE   COMING    OF   CHRIST 

ing  him  to  write  it  in  the  form  of  seven  epistles  to  seven 
churches  in  Asia :  Ephesus,  Smyrna,  Pergamos,  Thyatira, 
Sardis,  Philadelphia  and  Laodicea. 

The  number  "  seven  "  is  characteristic  of  this  book. 

In  it  we  have  the  "  seven  spirits,"  the  "  seven  stars," 
the  "  seven  candlesticks,"  the  "  seven  overcomers,"  the 
"  seven  promises,"  the  "  seven  seals,"  the  "  seven  angels," 
the  "  seven  trumpets,"  the  "  seven  thunders,"  the  "  seven 
vials,"  the  "  seven  heads,"  the  "  seven  mountains,"  the 
"  seven  kings,"  and  the  "  seven  plagues." 

The  seventh  day  was  the  day  of  God's  rest  in  creation, 
the  declaration  that  His  work  was  complete.  The  chil- 
dren of  Israel  encompassed  Jericho  seven  times  and  blew 
seven  blasts  on  the  last  round  as  a  witness  that  the  encir- 
cling judgment  was  complete.  Seven  was  used  as  the 
symbol  and  limit  of  forgiveness.  The  seven  spirits  set 
forth  the  unity  of  the  Spirit  in  the  universality  and  com- 
pleteness of  His  administration.  The  seven  seals  will  be 
found  upon  investigation  to  cover  the  whole  series  of 
judgments  with  which  the  Lord  shall  usher  in  His 
kingdom. 

Seven  is,  therefore,  the  number  proclaiming  unity  and 
completeness. 

By  so  much,  the  seven  churches  of  Asia  give  us  In 
seven  distinct  and  yet  relative  parts,  the  complete  story 
of  the  whole  professing  church  in  this  age. 

The  record  of  the  epistles  to  these  seven  churches  is 
given  in  the  second  and  third  chapters. 

Let  us  examine  the  epistle  to  the  Ephesians.  Revela- 
tion 2:1-7. 

In  this  epistle  the  Lord  first  commends  the  church. 
They  have  tried  those  who  say  they  are  apostles  and  are 
not.     He  knows  their  works,  and  labor  and  patience. 


COURSE  OF  PROFESSING  CHURCH       93 

They  hate  the  deeds  of  the  Nicolaitanes,  which  He  also 
hates.      Nevertheless    He   has    somewhat   against   them 
because  they  have  left  their  first  love. 
Thus  this  epistle  teaches : 

1.  At  the  very  outset  of  her  history  the  church  would 
depart  from  love  to  Christ. 

2.  False  teachers  would  enter. 

3.  A  class  of  teachers  would  arise  whom  the  Lord 
styled  "  Nicolaitanes."  This  word  signifies,  when  ana- 
lyzed, those  who  gain  the  victory,  or,  exalt  themselves 
over  the  people ;  a  class  of  persons  who  would  exalt  them- 
selves above  the  "  laity."  Teachers  and  leaders  who  would 
be  guilty  of  the  very  thing  against  which  the  Apostle 
Peter  warns  in  the  fifth  chapter,  third  verse  of  his  first 
general  epistle,  wherein  he  says: 

"  Neither  being  lords  over  God's  heritage." 

The  epistle  to  Smyrna,  verses  8-1 1. 

The  Lord  recalls  the  poverty  of  the  church,  the  blas- 
phemy of  those  who  say  they  are  Jews  and  are  not,  hut 
are  of  the  synagogue  of  the  Devil,  warns  them  against 
tribulation  and  exhorts  to  be  faithful  unto  death. 

This  epistle  teaches: 

1.  That  false  professors  would  be  introduced  into  the 
church  (wheat  and  tares  again). 

2.  These  false  professors  would  be  of  the  Devil.  (The 
Devil  sowed  the  tares.) 

3.  They  would  form  an  assembly  inside  the  church. 
(The  mustard  tree  giving  shelter  to  the  birds  of  the  air.) 
A  corrupted  Christianity  giving  shelter  to  the  Devil  as 
well  as  the  Son  of  God. 

This  epistle  to  Pergamos,  verses  12-17. 
This  church  dwells  where  Satan's  seat  is  (that  is,  in 
the  world;  for  he  is  the  prince  and  god  of  this  world). 


94  THE   COMING   OF  CHRIST 

While  there  are  those  who  still  hold  fast  the  name  of  the 
Lord,  there  are  others  who  hold  the  doctrine  of  Baalim 
and  the  doctrine  of  the  Nicolaitanes. 
This  epistle  teaches :  * 

1.  The  church  would  become  identified  with  that 
world  against  which  she  was  called  of  the  Lord  to  testify. 
Instead  of  dwelling  in  "  heavenly  places  in  Christ  Jesus," 
she  would  find  her  dwelling  place  in  the  world  which 
slew  her  Lord.  Instead  of  resisting  the  temptation  of 
the  Devil  as  her  Lord  had  done  in  the  Mount  when  He 
refused  the  rulership  of  the  world  at  the  hands  of  the 
Devil,  she  would  take  her  place  in  that  world,  and  yield- 
ing to  his  temptation  accept  the  vision  of  rulership  while 
her  Lord  was  away.  Instead  of  waiting  in  patient  single- 
ness of  heart  as  the  betrothed  for  a  coming  Bridegroom, 
she  would  listen  to  the  disguised  voice  of  the  tempter  and 
become  the  world's  paramour,  the  world's  mistress. 

2.  The  professing  church  would  hold  the  doctrine  of 
Baalim. 

Baalim  taught  Balak  to  induce  the  children  of  Israel 
to  marry  their  sons  to  the  daughters  of  Midian.  This 
was  the  union  of  the  representative  people  of  God  with 
the  people  of  the  world. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  go  to  history.  Turn  over  its  pages 
and  read  how  Constantine,  emperor  of  Rome,  out  of  con- 
siderations of  state,  made  Christianity  the  official  religion 
of  his  empire.  It  is  not  necessary  to  read  the  lines  which 
tell  how  at  the  point  of  the  spear  he  forced  whole  nations 
in  a  day  into  the  communion  of  the  church.  It  is  not 
necessary  to  read  Eusebius,  the  early  church  historian,  to 
catch  his  enthusiastic  conviction  that  the  holy  kingdom  of 
Heaven  had  come  and  that  the  kingdoms  of  this  world 
had  become  kingdoms  of  our  Lord  and  His  Christ,  the 


COURSE  OF  PROFESSING  CHURCH       95 

armies  of  the  earth  now  supporting  the  church  and  bear- 
ing it  onward  to  the  full  conquest  of  the  world.  It  is  not 
necessary  to  read  any  of  these  things  to  know  the  mind 
and  will  of  God  and  the  certainty  of  His  forecast.  How- 
ever valuable  history  may  be  as  a  secondary  verification 
of  the  Word,  the  great  facts  which  history  confesses  are 
all  prophetically  proclaimed :  that  the  church  and  the 
world  would  be  married  together,  would  form  an  adulter- 
ous union  in  which  the  church  would  be  kept  and 
supported  by  the  world. 

The  very  etymology  of  the  word  Pergamos  contains 
the  prophecy,  the  word  gamos,  signifying  a  marriage ! 

3.  Time  would  come  when  the  professing  church 
would  hold  the  doctrine  of  the  Nicolaitanes. 

Those  who  woiild  exalt  themselves  over  the  "  laity," 
claiming  an  authority  and  power  not  given  of  the  Lord, 
man-made  distinctions  and  offices. 

Archdeacons,  Priests,  Archbishops,  Monsignors,  Pre- 
lates, Popes !  What  are  all  these ;  and  what  is  the  classi- 
fication of  them  which  sounds  continually  in  our  ears? 
"  Clergy."  "  Laity."  These  are  offices  with  which  the 
pages  of  Ploly  Scripture  are  unfamiliar;  none  of  these 
can  be  found  within  the  list  of  gifts  which  the  ascended 
Lord  gave  to  His  church  for  its  edification  and  guidance 
during  His  absence.  These  are  human  inventions,  and 
each  man  who  fills  such  a  so-called  office  in  the  church  of 
Christ  has  exalted  himself,  or  been  exalted,  over  the 
people.  If  this  is  not  the  Nicolaitanism  of  the  epistle  to 
the  Ephesians  and  to  Pergamos,  where  is  there  certitude 
of  definition  in  any  word?  All  this  exaltation  of  men 
into  human  inspired  offices  in  the  church  of  Jesus  Christ 
is  known  by  the  familiar  term,  ''  clerisy."  And  so  sure 
as  the  clerisy  of  the  church  is  an  invention  of  the  flesh 


96  THE   COMING   OF   CHRIST 

and  not  the  Spirit,  and  those  who  are  in  these  offices  are 
called  again  and  again  the  "  princes  "  of  the  church,  and 
are  thus  in  the  place  of  victory,  rule,  domination  and  lord- 
ship over  the  people ;  as  all  this  fulfills  to  the  very  letter 
the  thing  for  which  the  word  Nicolaitane  stands,  then 
Nicolaitanism  is  nothing  less  than  "  Clerisy." 

And  let  it  be  remembered  as  we  pass  along  that  Jesus 
Christ,  the  Risen  Lord,  says : 

*'  Which  thing  I  hate."    Revelation  2:  15. 

The  epistle  to  Thyatira.     Revelation  2 :  18-29. 

In  this  church  the  woman  Jezebel  has  become  the  leader 
and  mistress.  She  is  the  mother  of  children.  She  calls 
herself  a  teacher.  She  seduces  the  Lord's  servants  and 
teaches  them  to  commit  fornication,  and  to  eat  things 
sacrificed  to  idols. 

Jezebel  was  the  pagan  wife  of  Ahab,  king  of  Israel. 

By  the  union  of  Ahab  and  Jezebel  the  professed  people 
of  God  became  paganized,  idolatrous. 

This  epistle  then  teaches : 

1.  The  professing  church  of  Christ  would  become 
paganized. 

There  would  come  into  the  world  a  paganized  Chris- 
tianity. 

2.  This  paganized  Christianity  would  set  up  idols, 
images,  and  ofifer  up  many  sacrifices. 

3.  That  this  paganized,  idolatrous  church,  having 
"  daughters,"  would  be  a  "  Mother  " ;  being  identified 
with  holy  things,  she  would  be  a  "  Holy  Mother  " ;  and 
representing  the  church  of  Christ  at  that  epoch  she  would 
be  a  "  Holy  Mother  Church." 

4.  As  Jezebel  the  representative  of  Paganism  married 
to  Ahab,  the  representative  of  Israel  and  inclusively  of 
Judaism,  was  the  union  of  Paganism  and  Judaism,  so  the 


COURSE  OF  PROFESSING  CHURCH       97 

symbolic  Jezebel  is  a  prophecy  that  the  professing  church 
would  be  a  composite  union  of  Paganism  and  Judaism. 

5.  This  paganized  and  judaized  church  would  teach 
those  who  professed  to  be  the  ministers  of  Christ  to  com- 
mit fornication ;  fornication  in  symbolic  language  is  the 
union  of  the  people  of  God  with  the  world.  This  church, 
therefore,  would  send  her  ministers  forth  to  advocate  the 
official  union  of  the  church  and  the  world,  the  world 
supporting  and  carrying  the  church,  temporal  sover- 
eignty. 

It  is  also  suggestive  that  the  Apostle  Paul  foretells  a 
time  coming  in  the  church  when  the  marriage  institution 
would  be  assailed  and  celibacy  taught  and  practised  by  a 
class. 

Celibacy  as  taught  and  practised  is,  as  all  history  shows, 
an  open  door  to  unchastit|y. 

6.  That  as  this  pagan  woman  bringing  the  support  of 
a  pagan  world  to  the  professed  people  of  God  set  herself 
up  for  an  authoritative  teacher,  and  changed  the  laws  and 
customs  in  Israel,  so  this  judaized,  paganized,  world  sub- 
sidized church,  would  set  itself  up  to  be  the  originator  of 
doctrine,  the  supreme  teacher,  changing  laws  and  customs 
to  suit  the  convenience  of  her  own  concepts. 

He  who  reads  history  knows  that  this  is  just  what 
happened. 

The  church  becoming  the  mistress  of  the  Roman  world, 
adopted  the  paganism  of  that  Rome  where  she  now 
reigned  supreme.  If  she  approved  Paganism  on  the  one 
side,  she  accepted  Judaism  on  the  other. 

She  took  pagan  temples  and  turned  them  into  her  basili- 
cas. She  took  pagan  gods  and  consecrated  them  as 
Christian  saints.  She  set  up  the  colossal  image  of  Jupiter 
and  hailed  it  as  the  image  of  the  Jew-Peter.     She  laid 


98  THE   COMING   OF   CHRIST 

hands  on  the  candle  and  wafer  of  paganism  and  incorpo- 
rated them  in  her  service.  She  brought  in  the  altar  of 
paganism  and  set  it  up  in  place  of  the  simple  table  of  the 
Lord.  She  took  the  bell  and  mitre  of  Judaism  and  set  up 
the  Levitical  priesthood  instead  of  the  common,  spiritual 
priesthood  of  all  believers.  She  took  the  high-priesthood 
or  the  Aaronic  family  and  in  its  name  set  up  the  supreme 
priesthood  of  a  pope,  the  head  of  a  special  and  authori- 
tative family  in  the  church.  She  took  the  many  and  oft- 
repeated  sacrifices  of  Israel  which  could  never  take  away 
sins,  and  substituted  them  for  the  one  accomplished  and 
perfect  sacrifice  of  the  cross.  Instead  of  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per, the  Breaking  of  Bread,  she  set  up  the  mass,  and  at 
every  service  offered  up  the  Son  of  God  afresh. 

The  plain  ministry  of  Christ,  and  the  local  officers  of 
the  church,  deacons,  elders  and  bishops,  became  a  body  of 
self-exalted  prelates,  priests,  princes  and  lords,  greater 
than  kings  or  potentates,  bidding  emperors  hold  the  stir- 
rups of  their  richly  caparisoned  mules,  or  stand  as  cup- 
bearers at  their  more  than  royal  feasts.  Clothed  in  purple 
and  fine  linen  every  day,  these  prelates,  these  so-called 
"  princes  of  the  church,"  in  the  name  of  "  Holy  Mother 
Church,"  commanded  the  world  to  support  them. 

Thus  history  reveals  that  Rome  stood  for, 

Clerisy. 

Judaism. 

Temporal  sovereignty. 

Paganism. 

An  examination  of  the  epistles  to  Ephesus,  Smyrna, 
Pergamos  and  Thyatira  will  show  that. 

In  Ephesus  we  have  Clerisy.    Nicolaitanism. 

In  Smyrna,  Judaism.  "  Those  who  say  they  are  Jews 
and  are  not." 


COURSE  OF  PROFESSING  CHURCH       99 

In  Pergamos,  Temporal  Sovereignty,  Dwelling  "  where 
Satan's  seat  is." 

In  Thyatira,  Paganism.    "  That  woman  Jezebel." 

And  all  this  fulfilled  in  the  name  of  Romanism. 

A  Romanism  that  debauched  the  church  and  debauched 
the  world,  even  as  the  filthy  Jezebel  debauched  Israel  and 
Israel's  king. 

All  this  I  say  is  history ! 

But  you  need  not  go  to  history. 

Go  to  Rome  itself. 

Go  into  the  church  of  Rome. 

At  once,  you  are  face  to  face  with  images,  idols,  the 
mass,  the  often  offered  sacrifice,  "  works  "  instead  of 
faith,  the  bell,  the  wafer,  the  priest,  the  prelate,  thrones  for 
ecclesiastical  lords  and  princes,  celibacy,  clerisy ;  a  church 
that  originates  doctrine ;  now,  the  doctrine  of  the  immac- 
ulate conception,  anon,  the  doctrine  of  papal  infallibility ; 
a  church  that  changes  times,  laws  and  seasons. 

Look  at  all  this  and  then  go  back  and  read  the  letters, 
the  epistles  to  Ephesus,  Smyrna,  Pergamos,  Thyatira,  and 
while  you  shiver  at  the  outlines  which  Romanism  has  re- 
vealed, magnify  in  these  epistles  the  unfailing  foreview  of 
an  ascended  Christ,  and  the  accuracy  and  inerrancy  of  the 
written  Word  which  bears  that  forecast  forth  to  you. 

The  epistle  to  Sardis.    Revelation  3  :  1-6. 

This  church  has  a  name  to  live  and  is  dead.  She  is 
exhorted  to  strengthen  the  things  that  remain  and  are 
ready  to  die,  and  is  told  in  unmeasured  terms  that  her 
works  are  not  approved  of  the  Lord,  are  not  perfect,  that 
is  to  say,  complete  before  God. 

Sardis,  etymologically,  signifies,  "  the  escaping  ones," 
those  who  come  out. 

The  epistle  teaches: 


100  THE   COMING   OF   CHRIST 

1.  There  would  be  those  who  should  come  out  from 
that  with  which  they  had  been  previously  identified. 

2.  These  religious  outcomers  would  take  to  them- 
selves a  special  name ;  so  that  it  might  be  said  of  them : 
"  Thou  hast  a  name."  That  is,  the  name  was  their  claim 
and  testimony. 

3.  These  outcomers  would  stand  for  life,  necessarily, 
for  spiritual  life.    "  Thou  livest." 

4.  In  spite  of  the  name  and  profession,  this  outcoming 
church  would  be  dead.  They  would  be  dead  while  alive. 
Thou  livest  and  art  dead.  "  To  be  alive  and  yet  dead," 
signifies  to  be  alive  in  the  flesh  and  dead  as  to  the  spirit, 
spiritually  dead. 

The  time  would  come,  therefore,  when  a  portion  of  the 
professing  church  of  Christ  would  have  a  great  name,  a 
name  in  which  it  founded  special  claim  for  distinction, 
and  yet,  would  be  spiritually  dead. 

5.  Although  the  work  it  would  begin  by  coming  out 
would  be  a  good  work,  looked  upon  with  favor  by  the 
Lord  as  "  before  God,"  that  work  would  not  be  completed 
and  the  Lord  would  withdraw  His  favor. 

If  we  take  up  history  we  find  that, 

1.  There  came  a  crisis  in  Romanism. 

There  were  those  who  escaped  out  of  it  and  repudiated 
all  identification  with  it.    They  "  came  out." 

2.  Those  who  came  out  of  Rome  took  to  themselves  a 
pre-eminent  name.  They  called  themselves  ''Protest- 
ants/' and  their  movement  was  known  as  ''Protestant- 
ism/' 

3.  The  Protestant  church  professed  to  stand  particu- 
larly for  spiritual  life. 

4.  In  spite  of  its  name  and  profession.  Protestantism 


','  ' 


COURSE  OF  PROFESSING  CkURCH     loi 

became  spiritually  dead;  for  long  desert  years  there  was 
not  even  a  mission. 

5.  Although  the  Reformation  began  well  and  threat- 
ened to  sweep  Romanism  to  the  sea,  winning  seemingly 
the  favor  and  overwatching  providence  of  the  Lord,  it 
came,  nevertheless,  to  a  sudden  and  mysterious  halt,  fail- 
ing to  complete  its  work  in  the  very  countries  where  it 
began. 

6.  Some  of  the  "  things  which  remain  "  in  Protestant- 
ism "  are  ready  to  die,"  and  the  exhortation  to  Sardis  to 
be  "  watchful  and  strengthen "  them  was  never  more 
pertinent  and  appropriate  than  now. 

The  forecast  of  Sardis  and  the  history  of  Protestant- 
ism fit  each  other  like  hand  and  glove. 

With  the  page  of  history  closed  and  the  facts  of  Prot- 
estantism ignored,  the  prophecy  remains  as  the  declara- 
tion of  the  continued  failure  and  departure  of  the 
professing  church. 

The  epistle  to  Philadelphia.     Revelation  3 :  7-14. 

Philadelphia  is  Brotherly-love. 

The  Lord  addresses  this  church  in  His  capacity  of  the 
One  who  has  the  key  of  David,  opening  and  shutting  at 
His  own  will. 

He  knows  the  works  of  this  church. 

He  has  set  before  it  an  open  door  and  no  one  can 
shut  it. 

This  church  has  kept  His  Word  and  has  not  denied 
His  name. 

It  has  also  kept  the  Word  of  His  patience,  and  because 
of  it,  He  promises  to  keep  those  in  Philadelphia  out  of 
the  hour  of  the  great  Tribulation.  In  this  epistle  we  have 
the  prophecy  that  after  Sardis  there  would  be  in  the 


102  Tfin   COMING   OF   CHRIST 


professing  church  those  who  would  own  the  common 
brotherhood  of  the  Sons  of  God. 

There  would  be  those  who,  unlike  Sardis  standing  for 
a  party  name,  would  exalt  the  name  of  the  Lord;  that 
they  would  keep  His  Word,  the  word  of  the  Gospel ;  but, 
specially,  they  would  keep  the  Word  of  His  Patience. 
His  Patience  is  that  He  is  patiently  waiting  the  promise 
of  Psalm  no:  i,  when  the  Father  shall  make  His  enemies 
His  footstool  and  according  to  the  second  Psalm,  send 
Him  back  to  rule  and  reign  on  this  earth.  Keeping  the 
Word  of  His  Patience  is  preaching  the  truth  of  the 
Second  Coming  and  patiently  with  Him  waiting  for  it. 

This  epistle  is  an  announcement  that  in  the  midst  of 
the  steady  departure  from  the  truth,  here  and  there 
throughout  professing  Christendom,  there  would  be  a 
return  to  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints,  a  revival 
of  the  blessed  hope  of  the  Coming;  but  this  in  itself 
would  be  only  like  the  brief  rent  in  the  dark  cloud. 

Thus  this  epistle  teaches : 

1.  That  towards  the  end  of  the  Church  age  there 
would  be  a  revival  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Second  Coming. 

This  period  agrees  with  that  described  in  the  parable 
of  the  virgins  (Matthew  25),  where  at  midnight  the  cry 
is  made,  "  Behold !  the  Bridegroom  cometh !  " 

2.  A  time  of  terrible  Tribulation  is  coming  on  the 
earth. 

3.  The  "  true  "  church,  the  church  that  "  keeps  "  the 
word  of  His  Patience  will  be  taken  away  before  the  hour 
of  that  unspeakable  trial. 

4.  The  faithful  "  waiting  "  ones  will  be  few  enough 
to  call  for  commendation  on  the  part  of  the  Lord. 

The  epistle  to  Laodicea.    Revelation  3: 14-21. 
This  is  the  seventh  and  last  church. 


COURSE  OF  PROFESSING  CHURCH      103 

Its  character. 

It  is  rich,  increased  in  goods  and  needs  nothing. 

It  is  lukewarm. 

According  to  the  Lord  it  is  actually  wretched,  miser- 
able, blind,  poor  and  naked. 

He  testifies  that  He  will  spue  it  out  of  His  mouth. 

The  time. 

It  is  evening,  the  close  of  the  day.  Evening!  Supper 
time. 

The  attitude  of  the  Lord, 

He  stands  outside  and  is  forced  to  knock  in  order  to 
gain  attention. 

The  church  within  is  so  taken  up  with  other  things 
beside  Himself  that  He  is  forced  to  make  this  demonstra- 
tion that  they  may  know  that  He  is  still  the  Lord  of  the 
church,  still  dealing  with  it. 

The  church  is  feasting  within. 

The  Lord  standing  outside. 

He  is  standing  outside,  but  willing  to  enter  within  and 
hold  fellowship  with  any  individual  or  as  many  indi- 
viduals as  will  have  Him. 

The  teaching  of  this  epistle  is  startling  but  clear. 

1.  The  last  letter  and  evening  time  set  forth  that  it  is 
the  closing  hour  of  the  "  Day  "  of  grace. 

2.  The  last  church  addressed,  the  last  characteristic 
of  the  professing  church  in  this  age. 

That  at  the  close  of  this  dispensation  the  professing 
church  would  be  outwardly  rich  in  "  goods,"  in  real  estate, 
in  buildings,  in  appointments,  in  numbers,  and  all  that 
goes  to  make  up  "  religious  goods." 

4.  Testimony  for  Christ  would  be  lukewarm,  diluted ; 
a  little  of  Christianity,  a  little  of  the  world.  Enough  of 
Christianity  to  make  the  worldling  in  the  church  decent 


104  THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST 

and  respected ;  enough  of  the  world  to  satisfy  and  delight 
the  professed  Christian;  a  Christianity  that  stood  for 
nothing  in  particular  in  Christianity,  and  a  Christianity 
that  stood  for  everything  in  particular  in  the  world. 

5.  Blind  to  the  Truth. 

6.  Spiritually  poor  and  naked ;  the  lack  of  spiritual  life 
as  clearly  manifested  as  the  body  of  a  person  who  stood 
on  the  highway  without  any  clothing,  perfectly  nude. 
Professing  Christians  as  shamelessly  naked  of  spiritual 
life  in  their  daily  experience  as  the  wanton  woman  who, 
professing  virtue,  entices  to  debauchery  by  exposing  her 
person. 

7.  The  church  taken  up  with  the  pleasures,  the  "  sup- 
per "  of  its  own  providing ;  according  to  Saint  Paul  in  his 
epistle  to  Timothy,  seeking  "  pleasurable  excitements." 
"  Lovers  of  pleasure  more  than  God." 

8.  This  lukewarmness  of  the  church  would  make  the 
Lord  sick;  it  would  produce  the  same  effect  upon  Him 
that  lukewarm,  tepid,  water  does  upon  the  ordinary  stom- 
ach, it  would  cause  Him  to  spue.  He  would  spue  out 
professing  Christendom  and  totally  reject  it,  even  as  He 
had  rejected  Judaism  from  being  His  witness  on  the 
earth. 

9.  At  the  end  of  the  age  He  would  stand  entirely 
outside  of  the  professing  church. 

He  would  no  longer  fellowship  it  as  a  whole. 

He  would  enter  in  and  fellowship  only  where  there 
was  a  response  to  Himself. 

Gathering  up  the  distinctive  outlines  of  this  seven-fold 
picture  of  the  professing  church  we  learn  that: 

1.  The  church  would  depart  from  love  and  devotion 
to  a  personal  and  absent  Lord. 

2.  There  would  be  the  coming  in  of  false  teachers. 


COURSE  OF  PROFESSING  CHURCH      105 

3.  There  would  be  the  introduction  of  those  who 
would  constitute  the  "  synagogue  of  Satan  "  in  the  very 
heart  of  the  church. 

4.  The  professing  church  would  become  an  equal 
shelter  with  the  Lord  for  the  Devil  and  his  agents. 

5.  The  coming  in  of  Judaism  and  earthly  tabernacles 
instead  of  grace  and  heavenly  priesthood. 

The  ritualism  of  the  Levitical  priesthood  instead  of  the 
Melchizedek  simplicity. 

6.  The  church  and  the  world  uniting  to  form  a  religio- 
political  kingdom  on  the  earth. 

The  church  no  longer  holding  the  attitude  of  the  chaste 
spouse  who  awaits  the  caresses  of  her  returning  Lord, 
but  rather  of  the  faithless  wife  who  takes  advantage  of 
her  husband's  absence  to  become  the  paramour  and 
mistress  of  another. 

7.  The  church  would  become  paganized,  and  thus 
compounded  of  Judaism,  civil  rule  and  Paganism,  would 
assume  to  herself  the  right  and  title  of  "  the  Mother 
church,"  setting  up  idols,  multiplying  the  sacrifices,  and 
debauching  her  servants  both  doctrinally  and  morally. 

8.  There  would  come  the  escape  of  some  from  this 
unclean  and  harlot  church,  making  a  great  protest  and 
standing  partisan-like  for  its  name  of  Protestantism,  but 
falling  short  in  its  work  and  becoming  spiritually  dead; 
having  a  name  to  live  and  yet  dead. 

9.  Then  there  would  come  a  revival  here  and  there  in 
the  midst  of  the  professing  church,  the  Protesting  side  of 
it,  a  revival  of  the  old  Apostolic  doctrine  that  the  Coming 
of  the  Lord  was  drawing  nigh. 

10.  Professing  Christendom  would  at  the  last  be  both 
rich  and  poor.  Rich  in  "  goods,"  poor  in  spiritual  life  and 
doctrinally  blind. 


io6  THE   COMING   OF   CHRIST 

Becoming,  finally,  so  diluted,  so  weak  in  the  truth  and 
in  every  fibre  of  spiritual  responsibility ;  so  occupied  with 
the  flesh  and  the  things  of  the  flesh;  so  little  taken  up 
with  the  Spirit  and  the  things  of  the  Spirit;  so  utterly 
unconscious  of  the  withdrawal  of  the  Lord's  presence 
from  the  assemblies  that,  in  sadness  and  in  indignation, 
the  Lord  would  revolt  against  its  hypocrisy,  and  repudiate 
it  as  His  church. 

Through  the  closing  testimony  two  tremendous  pictures 
are  thrown  on  the  background  of  the  age : 

1.  Romanism  marching  to  the  religious  conquest  of 
the  world. 

2.  Protestanism  repudiated  of  the  Lord. 
We  turn  now  to  the  seventeenth  chapter. 

We  behold  a  woman  sitting  on  a  scarlet  colored  beast. 

She  is  dressed  in  scarlet,  decked  with  pearls  and  hold- 
ing in  her  hand  a  golden  cup  filled  with  abominations  and 
filthiness. 

She  is  called  Mystery  Babylon, 

The  ten  horns  on  the  wild  beast  which  bear  her,  are 
explained  in  verse  i6  to  be  ten  kings  who  receive  their 
power  "  one  hour,"  or  at  "  the  same  time  "  with  the  Beast. 

This  Beast  is  the  blasphemous  son  of  Satan,  the  son  of 
Perdition,  the  Man  of  Sin,  the  Antichrist;  and  these  ten 
kings  form  his  government. 

This  woman  is  therefore  supported  by  the  kingdom  of 
Antichrist,  the  kingdom  of  the  Devil. 

In  the  last  verse  the  woman  is  called  a  city. 

The  Church  of  Christ  is  called  a  Mystery. 

She  is  presented  as  a  virgin. 

She  is  called  a  Bride. 

Finally,  she  is  presented  as  a  city,  the  new  Jerusalem, 
the  city  of  peace  and  order  divine. 


COURSE  OF  PROFESSING  CHURCH      107 

This  scarlet  clad  woman  is  called  a  Mystery. 

She  is  not  a  virgin,  she  is  a  harlot. 

She  is  not  a  wife,  she  is  the  paramour  and  mistress  of 
the  Devil's  son. 

Finally,  she  is  that  great  city  which  is  called  Babylon, 
the  city  of  confusion  and  the  denial  of  the  divine  peace 
and  order. 

If  the  first  woman,  being  a  symbol  of  the  church,  is 
thus  a  symbol  of  a  religious  system,  then  surely  this  other 
woman  stands  equally  for  a  religious  system. 

If  the  first  woman  stands  for  the  true,  the  second  must 
stand  for  a  false. 

In  the  eighteenth  chapter  there  are  certain  evidential 
and  moral  characteristics  which  make  this  view  of  the 
latter  a  demonstration. 

We  read: 

"  Babylon  is  become  the  habitation  of  devils  (demons) 
and  the  hold  of  every  foul  spirit  and  a  cage  of  every 
unclean  and  hateful  bird."    Revelation  18:  i,  2. 

1.  The  habitation  of  deznls. 

Paul  in  his  epistle  to  Timothy  had  warned  that  there 
would  be  a  departure  from  the  faith,  the  church  giving 
heed  to  seducing  spirits  and  doctrines  of  demons. 

2.  The  hold  of  every  foul  spirit. 

The  Apostle  in  the  same  epistle  to  Timothy  declares 
that  the  time  would  come  when  there  would  be  foul, 
"  seducing  "  spirits  in  the  church. 

3.  A  cage  of  every  unclean  and  hateful  bird. 

In  the  parable  of  the  Mustard  tree  our  Lord  had  fore- 
told that  the  professing  church  would  become  the  shelter 
of  the  birds,  those  birds  which  in  the  parable  of  the  Sower 
He  had  defined  as  the  Wicked  one  and  his  agents. 

If  there  is  any  unity  in  language  at  all,  then  in  this 


io8  THE   COMING    OF   CHRIST 

woman  filled  with  abominations,  drunken  with  the  blood 
of  martyrs  and  supported  by  the  state,  by  armed  force 
and  authority,  we  have  a  picture  of  the  professing  church 
in  its  final  development  after  our  Lord  had  spued  it  out 
of  His  mouth. 

In  Revelation  18:4,  there  are  evidently  some  who  are 
of  the  elect  of  Christ,  and  who  bear  His  name,  mixed  up 
in  some  fashion  with  this  abomination ;  and  these  are 
exhorted  to  come  out  of  her. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  this  eighteenth  chapter  gives 
rather  the  civil  than  the  religious  side  of  the  vast  system 
called  Babylon  in  the  last  days ;  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
Babylon  is  a  historic  future,  a  real  city  and  system,  but 
the  religious  side,  whether  the  centralization  of  it  be 
Westward  or  Eastward,  is  here  set  out  in  principle. 

Going  back  to  the  sixteenth  verse,  we  find  that  the 
very  kings,  the  very  powers  that  support  and  uphold  her, 
at  last  turn  on  her  and  destroy  her.  Who  can  fittingly 
describe  the  ignominy  ? 

The  professing  church  spued  out  and  rejected  of  the 
Lord,  in  the  end  rejected  and  destroyed  by  the  Devil. 

No  lower  depths  could  be  found. 

And  this  is  the  final  picture  of  the  professing  church 
in  this  world! 

With  the  Apostle  John  the  testimony  concerning  the 
course  of  the  professing  church  during  this  age  is  at  an 
end. 

We  have  examined  the  testimony  of  our  Lord  and  the 
five  Apostles. 

They  all  agree. 

There  is  not  a  dissenting  voice. 

There  is  not  a  contradicting  word. 

Our  Lord  shows  that  the  church  would  begin  with 


COURSE  OF  PROFESSING  CHURCH      109 

unwatchfulness,  be  invaded  by  Satan  and  end  by  becoming 
his  dwelling  place. 

That  so  far  from  overcoming  the  world,  the  world 
would  overcome  the  church,  chilling  its  p\ilses  of  love 
and  devotion. 

The  Apostle  Paul  warns  the  church  of  coming  heresies, 
divisions  and  great  apostasies ;  of  a  formalism  which 
denies  the  power  of  God,  rejection  of  doctrine  and  the 
exaltation  of  that  ministry  which,  denying  the  truth,  will 
seek  only  to  entertain,  to  please. 

James  declares  that  the  church  will  commit  adultery 
with  the  world. 

Peter  testifies  that  the  church  will  be  filled  with  ungodly 
men  who  will  deny  the  Coming  of  the  Lord. 

Jude  says  that  so  great  will  be  the  departure  from  the 
faith  that  it  will  be  necessary  to  contend  for  it  earnestly. 

John,  the  beloved  disciple,  assures  us  that  one  of  the 
marked  characteristics  in  the  closing  hours  of  the  dis- 
pensation will  be  the  bold,  unblushing  denial  of  the  In- 
carnation and  the  Second  Coming  in  the  flesh ;  and  now  in 
this  special  story  specially  inspired  by  the  risen  Lord  and 
coming,  as  has  been  said,  as  a  post-mortem  testimony, 
Saint  John  declares  that  the  church,  beginning  indeed 
with  unwatchfulness,  going  on  to  coldness  and  indiffer- 
ence, becoming  the  dwelling  place  of  Satan  and  reversing 
the  testimony  of  Gk)d,  making  herself  under  the  symbol 
of  the  woman  the  head  instead  of  the  Man,  will  at  the  last 
be  rejected  by  the  Lord,  rejected  with  loathing  and  scorn, 
and  that  thus  rejected  its  development  will  be  terrific  until 
it  is  seen  like  the  lump  completely  leavened,  permeated 
through  and  through  with  corruption,  the  habitation  of 
devils,  the  hold  of  every  foul  and  unclean  spirit,  the  cage 
of  every  hateful  bird,  and  finally  repudiated,  not  only  of 


no  THE   COMING    OF   CHRIST 

God,  but  of  the  Devil,  given  over  to  destruction  until,  as 
a  system,  it  is  stamped  out  and,  as  a  material  organiza- 
tion, burned  with  fire. 

At  what  tfioment  in  the  history  of  such  a  profession 
can  we  find  hope  that  it  will  bring  in  the  Millennial  era 
before  our  Lord's  return? 

Warned  by  our  Lord's  declaration  that  the  Gospel 
would  have  but  a  partial  reception ;  and  seeing  that  the 
church  would  be  invaded  by  the  world,  the  flesh  and  the 
Devil,  and  that  a  diluted  Gospel  would  be  the  successful 
factor  in  its  world  wide  expansion ;  that  it  would  be  filled 
with  unbelief,  carnality  and  sin  of  the  worst  form;  and 
that  many  of  the  pages  of  its  history  would  be  written  in 
the  bloody  ink  of  the  martyrs  of  Jesus,  and  made  blind  by 
Satanic  inspiration  and  demoniacal  wickedness;  seeing 
and  knowing  these  things,  how  could  we  expect  that  such 
a  church  would  at  the  last  win  the  world  for  Christ,  and 
lifting  its  silver  trumpets  cry,  "The  kingdoms  of  this 
world  are  become  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord  and  His 
Christ "  ? 

The  amazement  is  that  any  intelligent  reading  of  the 
testimony  could  have  led  one  for  a  moment  to  believe  a 
Millennium  even  thinkable. 

Having  seen  the  course  of  the  professing  church  in  the 
world,  we  shall  now  proceed  to  examine  the  faithful  wit- 
nesses and  hear  what  they  have  to  say  concerning  the 
course  and  character  of  the  world  in  this  age. 

What  will  be  the  development  of  the  world  morally  and 
governmentally  ? 

What  will  be  the  outcome  of  human  society  as  now 
constituted  at  that  moment  when  the  Lord  returns  to 
inspect  it? 


THE  COURSE  OF  THIS  WORLD 

(The  Testimony  of  Christ.) 


"INIQUITY   SHALL  ABOUND."— Matthew  24:12. 

"  NATION  SHALL  RISE  AGAINST  NATION."— Matthew 
24  7. 

"MEN'S  HEARTS  FAILING  THEM  FOR  FEAR,  AND 
FOR  LOOKING  AFTER  THOSE  THINGS  WHICH  ARE 
COMING  ON  THE  EARTH."— Luke  21 :26. 


CHAPTER  X 

Cfie  Cour0e  of  tt)i0  SiMorlD 

{Testimony  of  Christ.) 

What  will  be  the  character  and  development  of  this 
world,  this  human  society,  during  the  absence  of  our 
Lord? 

Will  it,  in  spite  of  much  that  is  false  and  impure  in 
the  professing  church,  respond  to  that  which  is  pure  and 
divine  within  it?  Will  it  own  the  truth  of  the  holiness 
of  God's  Son,  His  resurrection  from  the  dead,  receive 
the  righteousness  and  life  which  He  offers,  and  day  by 
day  show  the  moulding,  shaping  influences  of  these  truths 
in  kindred  manners^  in  withdrawal  from  the  ways  of  sin, 
till  steadily  it  turns  its  back  on  war,  on  murder,  rapine 
and  lust?  Will  the  guns  in  the  armories  and  the  cannon 
in  the  forts  grow  rusty  with  non-use?  Will  the  prisons 
have  fewer  occupants  and  judges  less  and  less  an  occupa- 
tion in  rebuking  wrong  and  establishing  the  right?  Will 
the  growth  of  human  power  and  the  increase  of  knowl- 
edge be  so  guided  and  controlled  by  the  church  of  Christ 
that  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord  shall  cover  the  earth  as 
the  waters  the  face  of  the  deep,  each  succeeding  century 
like  the  waves  of  the  sea  breaking  higher  and  with  a 
nobler  uplift  on  the  shores  of  time  ?  Will  the  flashing  of 
the  message,  the  speeding  of  the  trains,  the  gliding  of  the 
ships,  the  whirling  of  the  wheels  in  busy  factories,  the 
spreading  broadcast  of  all  the  sounds  and  utterances  of 
the  earth  in  daily  published  news,  be  the  reflexive  accent 
of  the  Christ?  Will  rapid  transit  and  sanitary  plumbing 
and  asphalt  pavements  be  the  italics  in  a  writing  that 

"3 


114  THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST 

testifies  to  the  regeneration  of  the  human  heart  and  the 
triumph  of  the  Gospel  of  the  Son  of  God?  Will  the  world 
grow  surely  better  and  better  towards  the  perfect  da,y? 
Will  the  times  ripen  like  apples  in  the  sun,  until  filled  with 
all  the  sweetness  of  Gospel  dew  and  light  they  shall  swing 
outward  as  from  heavy  laden  boughs  of  deeply  fruited 
trees  to  be  plucked  in  all  their  fulness  and  beauty  by  the 
hand  of  the  coming  King?  the  glad  millennial  fruit  of  the 
professing  church  of  Christ? 

We  ask  our  Lord  and  He  replies: 

He  replies  in  Matthew  lo :  16-22 : 

"  Behold,  I  send  you  forth  as  sheep  in  the  midst  of 
wolves :  be  ye  therefore  wise  as  serpents,  and  harmless  as 
doves. 

"  But  beware  of  men :  for  they  will  deliver  you  up  to 
the  councils,  and  they  will  scourge  you  in  their  syna- 
gogues ; 

"  And  ye  shall  be  brought  before  governors  and  kings 
for  my  sake,  for  a  testimony  against  them  and  the  Gen- 
tiles. 

"  And  the  brother  shall  deliver  up  the  brother  to  death, 
and  the  father  the  child;  and  the  children  shall  rise  up 
against  their  parents,  and  cause  them  to  be  put  to  death. 

"  And  ye  shall  be  hated  of  all  men  for  my  name's  sake ; 
but  he  that  endureth  to  the  end  shall  be  saved."  " 

According  to  this  statement  of  the  Christ  the  world 
will  act  towards  professed  followers  like  a  pack  of  fierce, 
bloodthirsty  wolves.  It  will  spring  at  the  throat  of  right- 
eousness and  truth.  It  will  hate  and  persecute  and  kill, 
seeking  utterly  to  destroy  the  Holy  Name.  In  whatever 
age,  under  whatever  form  of  manifestation,  the  spirit  of 
the  world  in  relation  to  the  way  and  work  of  Christ  will 
be  the  spirit  of  the  wolf,  the  wild  beast  that  seeks  to  kill. 


COURSE  OF  THIS  WORLD  115 

Our  Lord  makes  further  answer  in  respect  to  the 
world's  attitude  in  the  parable  of  the  Sower. 

Leaving  out  of  sight  the  ratio  of  the  Gospel,  He  de- 
clares that  to  the  end  this  Gospel  will  be  resisted  by  the 
world,  the  flesh  and  the  Devil ;  that  to  the  end  the  factors 
and  regulators  of  the  world  will  be,  not  the  Gospel,  but 
the  Flesh  and  the  Devil. 

He  answers  in  the  parable  of  the  wheat  and  the  tares. 

In  that  parable  a  remarkable  fact  is  revealed,  the  fact 
of  continued  mixture;  up  to  the  end  of  the  harvest  the 
field  is  a  mixed  Held;  it  is  a  field  divided  between  wheat 
and  tares. 

This  is  a  reaffirmation  of  the  parable  of  the  Sower  that 
the  whole  world  would  not  receive  the  Gospel. 

The  world  is  a  mixed  world,  a  divided  world,  a  world 
divided  between  those  who  are  the  children  of  the  king- 
dom and  those  who  are  the  children  of  the  Devil. 

Whatever  advance  the  world  may  make  then  in  science 
or  natural  morals,  or  refinement,  according  to  these  two 
parables  it  will  not  submit  to  the  Gospel ;  it  will  hate  and 
resist  it,  and  hate  and  resist  it  with  the  wild  beast,  wolf- 
like spirit  to  the  last. 

He  answers  in  the  parable  of  the  Drag-net.    Matthew 

13:47-50: 

"  Again,  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  likened  unto  a  net, 

that  was  cast  into  the  sea,  and  gathered  of  every  kind: 
"  Which,  when  it  was  full,  they  drew  to  shore,  and  sat 

down,  and  gathered  the  good  into  vessels,  but  cast  the 

bad  away. 

"  So  shall  it  be  at  the  end  of  the  world :  the  angels  shall 

come  forth,  and  sever  the  wicked  from  the  just; 

"  And  shall  cast  them  into  the  furnace  of  fire :  there 

ghc^U  be  wailing  and  gnashing  of  teeth," 


ii6  THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST 

This  parable  teaches  that  as  the  age  sweeps  on  the 
Gospel  will  gather  in: 

1.  Not  all  of  a  kind. 

2.  Many  of  every  kind,  bad  as  well  as  good. 

3.  This  mixture  of  good  and  bad  will  go  on  till  the 
end  of  the  age ;  a  mixed  profession,  a  corrupt  profession. 

4.  The  end  of  the  age  will  be  characterized,  not  by 
the  recognition  that  all  are  good  and,  therefore,  a  recep- 
tion of  all,  but  by  a  separation  which  testifies  that  all  are 
not  good.  It  will  be  a  testimony  that  the  Gospel  has  been 
outwardly  accepted  by  many  but  not  inwardly  obeyed. 
It  is  a  witness  that  the  Gospel,  however  much  it  has 
moulded  and  changed  the  lives  of  the  many,  has  not  suc- 
ceeded in  converting,  moulding  and  shaping  the  whole 
world  for  God  and  His  Christ.  It  is  a  witness  that  while 
the  Gospel  has  succeeded  in  bringing  many  into  the  king- 
dom of  heaven,  it  has  been  unable  to  deliver  others  from 
the  "  furnace  of  fire." 

Our  Lord  answers  the  question  as  to  the  world's  atti- 
tude during  His  absence  in  that  oft-quoted  discourse 
upon  the  Mount  of  Olives  and  recorded  so  fully  in  Mat- 
thew 24 : 4-24. 

"  And  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  them,  Take  heed 
that  no  man  deceive  you. 

"  For  many  shall  come  in  my  name,  saying,  I  am 
Christ;  and  shall  deceive  many. 

"  And  ye  shall  hear  of  wars,  and  rumors  of  wars :  see 
that  ye  be  not  troubled:  for  all  these  things  must  come 
to  pass,  but  the  end  is  not  yet. 

"  For  nation  shall  rise  against  nation,  and  kingdom 
against  kingdom.  .  .  . 

Then  shall  they  deliver  you  up  to  be  afflicted,  and 


a 


COURSE  OF  THIS  WORLD  117 

shall  kill  you ;  and  ye  shall  be  hated  by  all  nations  for 
my  name's  sake  .  .  .  many  false  prophets  shall  arise  and 
deceive  many  .  .  .  iniquity  shall  abound,  the  love  of 
many  shall  wax  cold  .  .  .  then  shall  be  great  tribulation, 
such  as  was  not  since  the  beginning  of  the  world  to  this 
time,  no,  nor  ever  shall  be. 

"  And  except  those  days  shall  be  shortened,  there  should 
no  flesh  be  saved :  but  for  the  elect's  sake  those  days  shall 
be  shortened.  .  .  .  there  shall  arise  false  Christs,  and 
false  prophets,  and  shall  show  great  signs  and  wonders." 

Analyze  this  statement. 

He  says: 

1.  During  His  absence  there  will  be  a  time  of  decep- 
tion. 

2.  There  will  be  wars  and  rumors  of  wars. 

3.  Nation  will  go  to  war  with  nation. 

4.  Kingdom  will  rise  up  against  kingdom. 

5.  There  will  be  famines,  pestilences  and  earthquakes. 

6.  It  will  be  a  time  of  sorrows. 

7.  A  time  of  hatred  and  persecution. 

8.  Iniquity  (lawlessness)  will  be  multiplied. 

9.  Antichrist  will  come  to  the  front  and  set  up  his 
idol. 

10.  There  will  be  a  tribulation  such  as  the  world  has 
never  known  and  will  not  know  again. 

11.  The  time  will  be  so  terrible  that  if  God  did  not 
cut  short  the  work  of  His  angelic  judgments,  not  even 
the  elect  could  be  saved. 

12.  This  time  of  tribulation,  falling  away,  Antichrist 
and  betrayal  of  God  and  the  name  of  the  Christ  on  the 
earth,  is  not  to  be  at  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era, 
but  at  the  "  end,"  before  the  Lord  returns. 


ii8  THE   COMING   OF   CHRIST 

Let  us  halt,  and  remembering  that  these  statements 
are  "  headquarter  statements,"  ask  ourselves  what  gleam 
of  millennial  light  and  hope  is  here? 

But  let  us  pass  on  to  three  striking  verses  in  this  most 
striking  chapter.     Verses  37-39. 

"  But  as  the  days  of  Noe  were,  so  shall  also  the  coming 
of  the  Son  of  man  be. 

"For  as  in  the  days  that  were  before  the  flood,  they 
were  eating  and  drinking,  marrying  and  giving  in  mar- 
riage, until  the  day  that  Noe  entered  into  the  ark, 

"  And  knew  not,  until  the  flood  came,  and  took  them  all 
away:  so  shall  the  coming  of  the  Son  of  man  be." 

If  it  were  simply  to  tell  us  that  the  ordinary  occupa- 
tions of  life  would  be  going  on  when  our  Lord  should 
return,  it  were  little  need  to  go  so  far  away  as  the  days 
of  Noah  for  an  illustration ;  but  the  flood  is  a  judgment 
on  the  character  of  the  world  that  preceded  it ;  and  as  the 
flood  is  a  type  or  symbol  of  the  Coming  of  the  Lord,  then, 
indisputably,  the  character  of  the  world  at  that  hour  is  a 
prophecy  of  the  character  of  the  world  previously  to  the 
Coming  of  the  Lord. 

What  then  was  the  character  of  the  antediluvian 
world  ? 

The  thunderous  fall  of  the  deluge,  the  breaking  up  of 
the  great  deep  ought  to  be  answer  enough. 

The  wiping  out  of  all  but  eight  persons  ought  to  tell  in 
language  sufficiently  plain  that  unspeakable  condition. 

But  we  are  not  left  to  any  conjecture. 

The  record  is  given  to  us  in  the  oldest  of  books,  in 
Genesis  6:5,  6 : 

"  And  God  saw  that  the  wickedness  of  man  was  great 
in  the  earth,  and  that  every  imagination  of  the  thoughts 
of  his  heart  was  only  evil  continually.    And  it  repented 


COURSE  OF  THIS  WORLD  119 

the  Lord  that  he  had  made  man  on  the  earth,  and  it 
grieved  him  at  his  heart." 

The  intents,  the  purposes  and  the  desires  of  man's 
heart  ]vere  wicked. 

His  wickedness  consisted  in  the  fact  that  he  was  wholly- 
given  up  to  the  material  side  of  his  life,  to  his  natural  and 
animal  functions,  and  did  not  care  to  retain  God  in  his 
heart. 

Our  Lord  declares  that  this  will  be  in  principle  and 
practice  the  moral  condition  of  the  world  previous  to 
His  Coming. 

But  turn  back  for  a  moment  to  verses  29,  30: 

"  Immediately  after  the  tribulation  of  those  days  shall 
the  sun  be  darkened,  and  the  moon  shall  not  give  her 
light,  and  the  stars  shall  fall  from  heaven,  and  the  powers 
of  the  heavens  shall  be  shaken. 

"  And  then  shall  appear  the  sign  of  the  Son  of  man,  in 
heaven;  and  then  shall  all  tribes  of  the  earth  mourn, 
and  they  shall  see  the  Son  of  man  coming  in  the  clouds 
of  heaven  with  power  and  great  glory." 

Here  is  a  description  of  the  Second  Coming  by  the 
Lord  Himself. 

When  does  He  say  He  will  come? 

Immediately  after  the  Tribulation, 

The  Tribulation  described  in  verse  21. 

Surely  this  tribulation  could  not  be  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem  under  Titus,  the  Roman  emperor. 

It  could  not,  because  the  Lord  Jesus  did  not  appear  in 
the  clouds  of  heaven  with  all  His  holy  angels  immediately 
after. 

He  has  not  appeared  in  the  clouds  of  heaven  with  all 
His  holy  angels  up  to  this  time. 

As  He  is  to  appear  immediately  after  the  tribula- 


120  THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST 

tion,  the  tribulation  must  immediately  precede  His 
Coming. 

Immediately  preceding  His  Coming  there  is  to  be 
what? 

Not  a  thousand  years  of  Gospel  triumph  closing  amid 
the  purple  and  the  gold  of  millennial  splendor !    No  ! 

What  then  ? 

A  tribulation  such  as  the  world  has  never  seen. 

Our  Lord  is  coming  a  second  time. 

He  is  coming  (so  He  says  Himself)  immediately  after 
the  most  marked  and  noted  event  of  its  kind  in  the  world's 
history. 

What  is  that  notable  event? 

The  conversion  of  the  world  and  the  handing  over  of 
that  converted  world  at  the  close  of  a  millennium  of 
peace,  prosperity  and  righteousness,  to  the  Lord  ? 

No! 

What  then  ? 

He,  Himself,  answers. 

After  a  tribulation  unparalleled  in  human  history. 

Note  too  the  attitude  of  the  people  of  the  earth  previous 
to  this  glorious  Coming. 

Is  it  the  attitude  of  those  who  have  been  dwelling  in  a 
kingdom  of  righteousness  and  peace ;  the  attitude  of  those 
who  are  yearning  for  the  manifestation  of  the  king  ? 

Listen  to  His  own  answer. 

''  Then  shall  all  the  tribes  of  the  earth  mourn.'' 

Instead  of  joy,  there  is  sorrow  and  anguish  in  the  earth. 

The  sound  of  His  Coming,  instead  of  filling  the  hearts 
of  men  with  delight  and  their  lips  with  praise,  breaks  on 
their  ears  like  the  roar  of  a  deluge.  And  if  the  deluge  be 
a  symbol  of  the  Coming,  then  this  Coming  is,  itself,  not 
the  descent  of  a  king  who  expects  to  receive  the  plaudits 


COURSE  OF  THIS  WORLD  121 

of  a  welcoming  people,  but  the  revelation  of  a  Judge  who 
comes  to  execute  vengeance  on  a  guilty  and  rebellious 
people. 

In  the  parable  of  the  Virgins,  Matthew  25,  our  Lord 
again  in  simple  words  lays  bare  the  course  and  character 
of  this  age  just  previous  to  His  Coming,    v.  6. 

"  At  midnight  there  was  a  cry  made.  Behold,  the  Bride- 
groom Cometh." 

The  hour  of  the  world  just  preceding  His  Coming  is 

MIDNIGHT. 

Not  MIDNOON,  but  MIDNIGHT.    . 

Not  the  high  noon  of  spiritual  light  and  splendor,  of 
millennial  triumph,  but  midnight,  the  moment  of  the  day's 
deepest  darkness ;  hence,  a  declaration  that  this  day,  this 
dispensation,  the  time  while  our  Lord  is  away  will  move 
on  to  deeper,  blacker  spiritual  night. 

Look  at  the  statement  in  all  its  simplicity. 

Before  the  Bridegroom  comes,  just  before  He  comes, 
the  time  will  be  midnight^  not  millennium. 

In  the  closing  portion  of  this  chapter,  in  Matthew 
25:  31-46,  the  Coming  of  the  Lord  is  described. 

"  When  the  Son  of  man  shall  come  in  his  glory,  and  all 
the  holy  angels  with  him,  then  shall  he  sit  upon  the 
throne  of  his  glory; 

And  before  him  shall  be  gathered  all  nations;  and  he 
shall  separate  them  one  from  another,  as  a  shepherd  di- 
videth  his  sheep  from  the  goats ; 

And  he  shall  set  the  sheep  on  his  right  hand,  but  the 
goats  on  the  left. 

Then  shall  the  King  say  unto  them  on  his  right  hand, 
Come,  ye  blessed  of  my  Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  pre- 
pared for  you  from  the  foundation  of  the  world : 

For  I  was  an  hungered,  and  ye  gave  me  meat:  I  was 


122  THE    COMING    OF    CHRIST 

thirsty,  and  ye  gave  me  drink:  I  was  a  stranger,  and  ye 
took  me  in : 

Naked,  and  ye  clothed  me:  I  was  sick,  and  ye  visited 
me :  I  was  in  prison,  and  ye  came  unto  me. 

Then  shall  the  righteous  answer  him,  saying,  Lord, 
when  saw  we  thee  an  hungered,  and  fed  thee  ?  or  thirsty 
and  gave  thee  drink  ? 

When  saw  we  thee  a  stranger,  and  took  thee  in?  or 
naked  and  clothed  thee? 

Or  when  saw  we  thee  sick,  or  in  prison,  and  came 
unto  thee? 

And  the  King  shall  answer  and  say  unto  them.  Verily 
I  say  unto  you.  Inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it  unto  one  of 
the  least  of  these  my  brethren,  ye  have  done  it  unto  me. 

Then  shall  he  say  also  unto  them  on  the  left  hand.  De- 
part from  me,  ye  cursed,  into  everlasting  fire,  prepared 
for  the  devil  and  his  angels : 

For  I  was  an  hungered,  and  ye  gave  me  no  meat:  I 
was  thirsty,  and  ye  gave  me  no  drink : 

I  was  a  stranger,  and  ye  took  me  not  in ;  naked,  and  ye 
clothed  me  not :  sick,  and  in  prison,  and  ye  visited  me  not. 

Then  shall  they  also  answer  him,  saying.  Lord,  when 
saw  we  thee  an  hungered,  or  athirst,  or  a  stranger,  or 
naked,  or  sick,  or  in  prison,  and  did  not  minister  unto 
thee? 

Then  shall  he  answer  them,  saying,  Verily  I  say  unto 
you.  Inasmuch  as  ye  did  it  not  to  one  of  the  least  of  these, 
ye  did  it  not  to  me. 

And  these  shall  go  away  into  everlasting  punishment: 
but  the  righteous  into  life  eternal." 

Our  Lord  here  represents  Himself  coming,  not  as  the 
Bridegroom,  but  as  the  Son  of  man.  He  comes  not  to  a 
marriage,  but  to  a  judgment.    He  finds  gathered  before 


COURSE  OF  THIS  WORLD  123 

Him,  not  a  united,  but  a  divided  world :  a  world  divided 
between  sheep  and  goats ;  between  those  who  are  His  and 
have  been  such  in  covenant  purpose  from  the  "  begin- 
ning," and  those  who  are  not  His  and  never  were ;  those 
who  shall  enter  into  the  kingdom,  and  those  who  shall 
enter  into  the  furnace  of  fire. 

The  whole  picture  is  a  terrific  and  scenic  demonstra- 
tion that  when  He  comes,  the  Lord  will  not  find  a  world 
wholly  submitted  to  His  will. 

Let  us  take  up  the  same  divine  testimony  in  the  Gospel 
according  to  Saint  Luke  17:28-30. 

"  Likewise  also  as  it  was  in  the  days  of  Lot ;  they  did 
eat,  they  drank,  they  bought,  thqy  sold,  they  planted,  they 
builded ; 

But  the  same  day  that  Lot  went  out  of  Sodom,  it  rained 
fire  and  brimstone  from  heaven,  and  destroyed  them 
all. 

Even  thus  shall  it  be  in  the  day  when  the  Son  of  man 
is  revealed." 

We  know  what  Sodom  was. 

We  use  its  name  to-day  as  an  indication  of  all  that  is 
abominable  and  vile  in  man;  and  our  Lord  singles  out 
Sodom  under  the  fire  of  judgment,  judgment  because  of 
its  filth  and  wickedness,  coupling  this  fiery  judgment  with 
the  Coming  of  Christ,  not  as  a  Bridegroom,  but  the  Son 
of  man.  If  this  descent  of  fire  upon  the  ancient  city  is  a 
judgment  upon  the  condition  morally  existing,  and  this 
judgment  is  specifically  declared  by  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  to  be  a  representation  gf  His  Second  Coming, 
what  other  possible  conclusion  is  there  than  that  this 
Coming  has  to  do  with  the  moral  condition  of  the  world 
then  existing. 

It  will  be  a  time  of  surrender  to  the  flesh,  a  time  of  eat- 


124  THE   COMING   OF   CHRIST 

ing  and  drinking,  buying  and  selling,  planting  and 
building. 

In  spite  of  all  the  centuries ;  in  face  of  all  the  Gospel ; 
in  the  light  or  shadow  of  the  church  of  Christ,  the  world 
will  still  persist  in  living  its  animal  and  fleshly  life,  mov- 
ing forward  with  jocund  and  careless  step,  not  to  the 
benediction  of  a  welcomed  Lord  and  Saviour,  but  to  the 
fiery  wrath  of  an  indignant  Judge. 

Where  is  the  genius  who  can  out  of  such  statements  as 
these  weave  the  pleasing  thought  of  a  coming  millen- 
nium? 

How  is  it  possible  through  the  black  clouds  of  the  del- 
uge, the  fire  and  smoke  of  the  brimstone  above  Sodom 
and  Gomorrah,  to  see  the  crystal  heavens  and  the  sinless 
earth  of  the  millennial  hour? 

The  parable  of  the  Nobleman  in  Luke  19,  has  already 
been  studied  from  the  standpoint  of  the  professing 
church.  In  brief  statement  it  reveals  the  attitude  of  the 
world  at  the  Coming  of  our  Lord. 

When  the  Nobleman  went  away  his  citizens  sent  a  mes- 
sage after  him,  saying,  "  We  will  not  have  this  man  to 
reign  over  us,"  v.  14 ;  for  they  "  hated  "  him.  When  he 
comes  back  he  deals  first  with  his  own  servants,  then 
takes  up  the  issue  raised  by  his  citizens ;  and  what  does 
he  call  them  ?  "  Enemies."  He  sa^ys :  "  But  those  mine 
enemies,  which  would  not  that  I  should  reign  over  them, 
bring  hither,  and  slay  them  before  me."  v.  27. 

Not  a  ray  of  millennial  light  breaks  across  the  parable. 

Let  us  now  examine  the  discourse  in  Luke  21 :  25-35. 

"  And  there  shall  be  signs  in  the  sun,  and  in  the  moon, 
and  in  the  stars;  and  upon  the  earth  distress  of  nations, 
with  perplexity;  the  sea  and  the  waves  roaring; 

Men's  hearts  failing  them  for  fear,  and  for  looking 


COURSE  OF  THIS  WORLD  125 

after  those  things  which  are  coming  on  the  earth:  for 
the  powers  of  heaven  shall  be  shaken.  And  then  shall 
they  see  the  Son  of  man  coming  in  a  cloud  with  power 
and  great  glory. 

And  when  these  things  begin  to  come  to  pass,  then  look 
up,  and  lift  up  your  heads ;  for  your  redemption  draweth 
nigh. 

And  he  spake  to  them  a  parable ;  Behold  the  fig  tree, 
and  all  the  trees ;  when  they  now  shoot  forth,  ye  see  and 
know  of  your  own  selves  that  summer  is  now  nigh  at 
hand. 

So  likewise  ye,  when  ye  see  these  things  come  to  pass, 
know  ye  that  the  kingdom  of  God  is  nigh  at  hand. 

Verily  I  say  unto  you,  This  generation  shall  not  pass 
away  till  all  be  fulfilled. 

Heaven  and  earth  shall  pass  away :  but  my  words  shall 
not  pass  away. 

And  take  heed  to  yourselves,  lest  at  any  time  your 
hearts  be  overcharged  with  surfeiting  and  drunkenness, 
and  cares  of  this  life,  and  so  that  day  come  upon  you 
unawares. 

For  as  a  snare  shall  it  come  on  all  them  that  dwell  on 
the  face  of  the  whole  earth." 

In  the  previous  verses  our  Lord  has  been  speaking  of 
the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  the  dispersion  of  the  Jewish 
nation  and  the  reannunciation  of  Gentile  times ;  He  then 
passes  from  that  to  the  greater  Tribulation  and  the  might- 
ier judgment  at  His  Coming.  We  have  therefore  in  these 
immediate  verses  a  delineation  of  the  course  and  charac- 
ter of  the  world  at  the  moment  of  His  return. 

Note  what  is  herein  declared. 

I.  That  there  will  be  great  disturbance  in  the 
heavens. 


126  THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST 

2.  There  will  be  distress  of  nations. 

3.  There  will  be  universal  perplexity. 

4.  Great  tidal  waves  of  the  sea. 

5.  Men's  hearts  failing  them. 

6.  All  pervading  fear. 

What  could  the  Son  of  God  have  said  in  stronger  form 
if  He  wished  to  deny  a  millennial  era  during  His  absence  ? 

Shattering  heavens!  shivering  earth!  moaning  sea! 
perplexed  minds!  frightened  hearts!  distress!  pressure 
and  heart  failure! 

Think  of  it !  it  is  startling !  He  says  the  world  previ- 
ous to  His  Coming  will  be  in  a  state  of  universal  heart 

FAILURE. 

Was  there  ever  a  more  generic  and  tonic  phrase  than 
that? 

Heart  failure  I 

Men  giving  it  up !  hopeless  !  in  despair !  just  waiting  for 
the  end  to  come! 

"As  a  snare  shall  it  come  on  all  them  that  dwell  on  the 
face  of  the  whole  earth."  v.  35. 

A  snare! 

What  language  is  this  ? 

How  does  it  accord  with  millennial  expectations? 

What  utter  contradiction  of  millennial  premise  and 
conclusion;  for,  indeed,  if  during  a  thousand  years  of 
peace  all  hearts  have  been  filled  with  the  knowledge  of 
the  Lord,  then  all  hearts  ought  to  be  in  the  joyful  an- 
ticipation of  His  personal  Coming ;  to  say  that  this  Com- 
ing will  take  these  people  like  a  snare,  a  trap,  in  which 
you  catch  wild  beasts,  is  to  deny  in  the  most  emphatic 
terms  any  delight  or  joy  in  God  at  all. 

Think  of  it!  the  Coming  of  the  Lord  compared  to  a 
trap. 


COURSE  OF  THIS  WORLD  127 

Think  of  it !  the  world  compared  to  a  wild  beast  caught 
in  a  trap ! 

Thus  the  antemortem  testimony  of  our  Lord  is  all  in. 

From  first  to  last  there  has  been  unity  and  consistency 
in  it.    He  teaches: 

The  attitude  of  the  world  to  the  Gospel  while  He  is 
away. 

It  will  be  resistance,  resistance  in  the  energy  of  the 
flesh  and  the  subtilty  of  the  Devil. 

He  teaches  the  moral  character  of  the  world  during 
His  absence. 

It  will  be  a  world  given  over  to  materialism,  to  sin ;  a 
world  that  will  repeat  in  accentuated  form  the  days  of 
Noah  and  the  days  of  Lot ;  a  world  in  which  there  will  be 
deep,  black  spiritual  midnight;  a  world  filled  with  tares; 
a  world  filled  with  goats  rather  than  sheep ;  a  world  filled 
with  His  enemies,  with  the  haters  of  His  name  and  right- 
eousness. 

He  teaches  the  condition  of  the  world  socially  and  gov- 
ernmentally. 

It  will  be  a  time  of  distress. 

Men  will  be  hard  pressed  by  conditions  and  circum- 
stances. 

The  nations  and  the  governments  of  the  earth  will  be  in 
commotion  and  filled  with  perplexity. 

All  nations  will  be  moved  to  their  foundations. 

War  and  not  peace  will  be  the  prevailing  characteristic. 

The  whole  fabric  of  society  will  be  interwoven  with  the 
threads  of  despair,  with  fear,  with  a  general  pessimistic 
surrender  to  the  sense  of  the  greatness  of  the  odds 
against  them. 

He  teaches  that  nature  herself  will  be  in  a  state  of  ele- 
mental war,  as  if  all  the  bolts  and  rivets  that  held  the 


128  THE   COMING    OF   CHRIST 

framework  together  had  been  loosened.  The  powers  of 
heaven  will  be  shaken.  The  earth  will  tremble  like  a 
jolting  chariot,  till  the  seas,  breaking  from  their  fixed 
confinement,  shall  dash  on  the  resounding,  terrified 
shores. 

And  the  scene  ends  with  the  Christ  rejecting  world 
caught  in  a  trap,  caught  in  the  trap  of  its  own  sin,  mock- 
ery  and  unbelief,  and  dragged  snarling  and  fearful  be- 
fore its  captor  and  its  judge. 

Such  is  the  testimony  of  the  Son  of  God  concerning 
the  course  of  this  world  during  His  absence. 


THE    COURSE   OF   THIS   WORLD 

(Testimony  of  the  Apostles.) 


"  THE  WHOLE  WORLD  LIETH  IN  WICKEDNESS  [THE 
WICKED  ONE]."— I  John  5:19. 

"I  SAW  THE  KINGS  OF  THE  EARTH,  AND  THEIR 
ARMIES,  GATHERED  TOGETHER  TO  MAKE  WAR 
AGAINST  HIM  THAT  SAT  ON  THE  HORSE."— Revelation 
19 :20. 


CHAPTER  XI 

Cfte  Course  of  tfiis  KHotlD 

(The  Testimony  of  the  Apostles.) 

In  Galatians  i :  4,  the  Apostle  Paul  writes  that  the  age 
in  which  we  live  is  "  this  present  evil  world."" 

In  I  Thessalonians  5 :  1-7,  he  writes : 

"  But  of  the  times  and  seasons,  brethren,  ye  have  no 
need  that  I  write  unto  you.  For  yourselves  know  per- 
fectly that  the  day  of  the  Lord  so  cometh  as  a  thief  in 
the  night. 

For  when  they  shall  say,  Peace  and  safety ;  then  sudden 
destruction  cometh  upon  them,  as  travail  upon  a  woman 
with  child ;  and  they  shall  not  escape.  But  ye,  brethren, 
are  not  in  darkness,  that  that  day  should  overtake  you 
as  a  thief. 

Ye  are  all  the  children  of  light,  and  the  children  of  the 
day :  we  are  not  of  the  night,  nor  of  darkness. 

Therefore  let  us  not  sleep  as  do  others ;  but  let  us 
watch  and  be  sober.  For  they  that  sleep,  sleep  in  the 
night;  and  they  that  be  drunken  are  drunken  in  the 
night." 

In  this  statement,  he  teaches  us,  even  in  the  barest 
analysis : 

1.  The  Day  of  the  Lord,  the  millennial  day,  will  be 
introduced,  not  amid  the  effulgent  splendor  of  a  triumph- 
ant Gospel  and  a  world  filled  with  the  light  and  intelli- 
gence of  the  Spirit,  but  like  a  stealthy,  swift  coming 
thief,  into  a  night  of  darkness  and  spiritual  sleep. 

2.  That  this  millennial  day  will  not  come  with  gifts 

131 


132  THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST 

and  blessings  to  the  world  but  with  the  hand  of  the  rob- 
ber to  spoil  it  of  a  treasure. 

3.,  While  everybody  is  talking  about  the  coming  "  good 
times  "  and  the  days  of  "  peace  "  on  earth,  sudden  de- 
struction shall  fall  upon  them  and  they  shall  not  escape. 

And  now  certainly  whatever  else  the  Apostle  teaches  he 
does  teach  beyond  peradventure : 

1.  That  at  the  Coming  of  Christ  the  world  will  be  di- 
vided among  children  of  light  and  children  of  night; 
among  people  saved  and  people  not  saved. 

2.  That  so  far  from  there  being  a  millennial  era  of 
peace  at  the  Coming  of  Christ  there  will  be  a  time  of  sor- 
row and  anguish,  with  no  way  of  escape.  So  far  from 
the  world  being  in  a  state  of  spiritual  tranquillity  and 
peace  it  will  be  as  a  woman  caught  in  travail  pains  with- 
out warning,  and  without  relief. 

Reading  that  passage,  would  any  unprejudiced  mind 
imagine  for  a  moment  that  there  was  any  possibility  of  a 
long  reign  of  peace  before  the  Coming  of  the  Lord  ? 

But  let  us  now  turn  to  2  Thessalonians  i :  6-10. 

"  It  is  a  righteous  thing  with  God  to  recompense  tribu- 
lation to  them  that  trouble  you ; 

And  to  you  who  are  troubled,  rest  with  us;  when  the 
Lord  Jesus  shall  be  revealed  from  heaven  with  his  mighty 
angels. 

In  flaming  fire  taking  vengeance  on  them  that  know 
not  God,  and  that  obey  not  the  Gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ : 

Who  shall  be  punished  with  everlasting:  destruction 
from  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  and  from  the  glory  of 
his  power; 

When  he  shall  come  to  be  glorified  in  his  saints,  and  to 


COURSE  OF  THIS  WORLD  133 

be  admired  in  all  them  that  believe  (because  our  testi- 
mony among  you  was  believed)  in  that  day.'* 
The  Apostle  here  says: 

1.  The  Lord  is  coming. 

2.  He  is  coming  in  vengeance  judgment. 

3.  He  is  coming  in  judgment  on  those  who  know  not 
God. 

4.  He  is  coming  in  judgment  on  those  who  obey  not 
the  Gospel. 

The  Apostle  thus  clearly  teaches : 

That  at  the  Second  Coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
there  will  be  two  classes  in  the  world. 

Those  who  know  not  God. 

Those  who  obey  not  the  Gospel.    • 

Can  anything  plainer  be  said? 

Would  any  one  reading  the  passage  for  the  first  time 
imagine  for  a  moment  that  the  Apostle  taught  or  believed 
in  a  world  converted  and  living  in  the  light  of  Gospel 
peace  a  thousand  years  before  the  Christ  is  revealed? 
Does  the  language  sound  at  all  consistent  with  that  other 
declaration  that  "  all  shall  know  Him  from  the  least  unto 
the  greatest  ?  "  or  that  the  "  knowledge  of  the  Lord  shall 
cover  the  earth  as  waters  the  face  of  the  deep  ?  "  In  the 
second  chapter  of  this  epistle  we  have  a  terrible  and  real- 
istic picture  of  that  which  is  coming  on  the  world  before 
the  Son  of  God  shall  appear  to  take  unto  Himself  His 
great  power  and  reign. 

"  Let  no  man  deceive  you  by  any  means :  for  that  day 
shall  not  come,  except  there  come  a  falling  away  first,  and 
that  man  of  sin  be  revealed,  the  son  of  perdition ; 

Who  opposeth  and  exalteth  himself  above  all  that  is 
called  God,  or  that  is  worshipped;  so  that  he,  as  God, 


134  THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST 

sitteth  in  the  temple  of  God,  showing  himself  that  he  is 
God. 

Remember  ye  not  that,  when  I  was  yet  with  you,  I  told 
you  these  things?  And  now  ye  know  what  withholdeth 
that  he  might  be  revealed  in  his  time. 

For  the  mystery  of  iniquity  doth  already  work:  only 
he  who  now  letteth,  will  let,  until  he  be  taken  out  of  the 
way. 

And  then  shall  that  Wicked  be  revealed,  whom  the 
Lord  shall  consume  with  the  Spirit  of  his  mouth,  and 
shall  destroy  with  the  brightness  of  his  coming; 

Even  him  whose  coming  is  after  the  working  of  Satan, 
with  all  power  and  signs  and  lying  wonders. 

And  with  all  deceivableness  of  unrighteousness  in 
them  that  perish;  because  they  received  not  the  love  of 
the  truth,  that  they  might  be  saved. 

And  for  this  cause  God  shall  send  them  strong  delu- 
sion, that  they  should  believe  a  lie: 

That  they  might  all  be  damned  who  believe  not  the 
truth,  but  had  pleasure  in  unrighteousness."  2  Thessa- 
lonians  2:  1-12. 

The  Apostle  here  says : 

1.  The  Day  of  Christ,  the  Millennium,  had  not  come 
in  his  day. 

2.  Before  the  Day  of  Christ  could  come  there  must 
come  a  "  falling  away." 

3.  A  terrible  personage  will  arise  called  the  Man  of 
Sin,  the  Son  of  Perdition. 

4.  This  man  will  exalt  himself  as  very  God. 

5.  He  will  come  in  the  power  and  energy  of  Satan 
and  as  his  special  manifestation. 

6.  He  will  do  great  signs  and  wonders. 

7.  He  will  deceive  multitudes. 


COURSE  OF  THIS  WORLD  135 

8.  Those  who  have  refused  to  believe  the  truth  will 
believe  the  (the  article  is  used  here)  lie. 

9.  When  this  Man  of  Sin  is  at  the  height  of  his  impi- 
ous career,  the  Son  of  God  will  come  in  glory  and  de- 
stroy him. 

Now  whatever  controversy  there  may  be  concerning 
the  full  interpretation  of  this  passage,  there  can  be  no 
question  that  the  Apostle  does  teach : 

1.  That  just  previous  to  the  Coming  of  our  Lord  there 
will  be,  not  a  millennium,  but  a  "  falling  away,"  an 
apostasy. 

2.  When  Christ  comes  He  will  find,  not  a  whole  con- 
verted world,  but  a  man  seated  in  the  very  temple  of 
God  (whatever  that  temple  may  be)  claiming  the  attri- 
butes and  honors  of  God. 

3.  He  will  find  a  world  bowing  down  and  worshiping 
the  Devil's  man,  and  refusing  to  own  God's  Man ;  yield- 
ing allegiance  to  The  Lie  and  not  to  The  Truth. 

There  is  something  almost  ghastly  in  these  things. 

But  there  they  are! 

Behold  the  picture  painted  by  the  Spirit  Himself! 

A  man  lifted  up,  crowned  and  owned  by  the  world  as 
a  very  god ;  and  that  man,  not  God's  Christ,  God's  Son, 
but  the  Devil's  Christ,  the  Devil's  son ;  not  the  outgrowth 
^nd  the  flowering  forth  of  the  divine  life,  but  the  blos- 
soming into  form  of  all  that  is  undivine  and  devilish  in 
man. 

And  how  does  the  Apostle  characterize  the  time? 
What  is  just  the  phrase  he  uses  to  set  forth  the  days  pre- 
ceding the  coming  in  glory  ? 

Listen  to  what  he  says  in  v.  11: 

"  And  for  this  cause  God  shall  send  them  strong  de- 
lusion." » 


136  THE   COMING    OF    CHRIST 

The  words  are  hipystav  TzXdvri<$  "  a  working  of  error," 
"  an  energy  of  falsehood." 

He  gave  the  Holy  Ghost  to  be  the  energy  for  truth  to 
enable  men  to  see,  know,  and  walk  in  the  truth,  and  they 
refused ;  now  He  will  send  them  the  energy  and  power  of 
falsehood.  Instead  therefore  of  a  time  when  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  Lord  shall  fill  the  earth,  it  will  be  a  time  of 
"  falHng  away,"  "  strong  delusion,"  "  believing  the  lie." 

Listen  to  the  words  of  the  Apostle  in  2  Timothy  3 : 1. 

"  In  the  last  days  perilous  times  shall  come." 

Is  this  utterance  an  inspiration  of  God? 

Is  it  the  declaration  of  the  divine  mind  in  divinely 
chosen  words,  on  the  lips  of  a  specially  called  apostle? 

If  so,  then  the  statement  ought  to  be  the  end  of  all 
controversy,  the  end  of  all  question. 

"In  the  last  days  perilous  times  shall  come." 

And  the  word  "  perilous  "  means  **  trying,"  "  torturing  " 
days  of  tribulation,  sorrow  and  anguish  for  all  who  "  will 
live  godly  in  Christ  Jesus." 

Perilous  because  of  the  atmosphere  of  unbelief  and  in- 
difference in  the  professing  church.  Perilous  because  of 
the  waxing  worse  of  evil  men  and  seducers.  Not  only 
perilous  because  of  conditions  in  the  church,  but  a  time 
of  peril  in  the  world.  A  time  of  fierceness,  unrest,  con- 
fusion and  war  as  already  described  by  our  Lord. 

So  far  then  from  being  the  day  when  the  lion  and  the 
lamb  shall  lie  down  together,  it  will  be  a  time  of  peril  and 
tribulation,  a  time  of  sorrow  and  despair;  and  all  this 
agrees  with  what  the  Lord  taught  on  Olivet,  that  just 
before  His  return  there  would  be  a  time  of  unparalleled 
tribulation. 

Let  us  pass  to  the  testimony  of  James. 

Read  the  following  words: 


COURSE  OF  THIS  WORLD  137 

"  Go  to  now,  ye  rich  men,  weep  and  howl  for  your  mis- 
eries that  shall  come  upon  you. 

Your  riches  are  corrupted,  and  your  garments  are 
motheaten. 

Your  gold  and  silver  is  cankered ;  and  the  rust  of  them 
shall  be  a  witness  against  you,  and  shall  eat  your  flesh  as 
it  were  fire.  Ye  have  heaped  treasure  together  for  the 
last  days. 

Behold,  the  hire  of  the  laborers  who  have  reaped  down 
your  fields,  which  is  of  you  kept  back  by  fraud,  crieth: 
and  the  cries  of  them  which  have  reaped  are  entered  into 
the  ears  of  the  Lord  of  Sabaoth. 

Ye  have  lived  in  pleasure  on  the  earth,  and  been  wan- 
ton ;  ye  have  nourished  your  hearts,  as  in  a  .  day  of 
slaughter. 

Ye  have  condemned  and  killed  the  just;  and  he  doth 
not  resist  you. 

Be  patient  therefore,  brethren,  unto  the  coming  of  the 
Lord.  Behold,  the  husbandman  waiteth  for  the  precious 
fruit  of  the  earth,  and  hath  long  patience  for  it,  until  he 
receive  the  early  and  latter  rain. 

Be  ye  also  patient ;  stablish  your  hearts :  for  the  coming 
of  the  Lord  draweth  nigh. 

Grudge  not  one  against  another,  brethren,  lest  ye  be 
condemned :  behold,  the  judge  standeth  before  the  door." 
James  5 :  1-9. 

In  this  passage  the  Apostle  declares : 

I.  That  in  the  last  days  there  will  be  the  accumulation 
of  wealth  in  the  hand  of  a  class  called  distinctively  "  rich 


men." 


2.  Gold  and  silver  will  be  rusted ;  the  word  for  "  rust  " 
is  "  poison  "  and  signifies  that  capital  in  the  hands  of  the 
"  rich  men  "  will  become  like  poison  in  its  effect ;  this  evil 


138  THE   COMING    OF   CHRIST     ' 

effect  of  money  in  their  hands  shall  be  a  witness  against 
them. 

3.  Wages  will  be  held  back  by  a  conspiracy  on  the 
part  of  those  who  possess  the  capital. 

4.  The  suffering  of  the  wage  earners  will  be  so  great 
that  the  cry  of  it  will  come  up  into  the  ears  of  God. 

5.  Those  who  are  rich  shall  live  wantonly,  voluptu- 
ously, carelessly  in  the  very  presence  of  the  starving  poor. 

6.  The  hoarded  wealth  of  the  capitalist  will  be  turned 
as  an  engine  of  power  against  the  poor. 

7.  Misery  and  disaster  will  come  upon  the  rich. 

Here  is  prophecy  that  the  closing  hours  of  this  dispen- 
sation will  see  classes  and  masses  arrayed  against  each 
other.  Wealth  and  wages  looking  each  other  in  the  face 
with  defiance.  Violence  breaking  loose  and  scattering 
the  heaped  up  treasures  of  the  rich.  A  time  of  such  prov- 
ocation to  those  who  are  poor ;  a  time  of  such  stress  and 
strain,  such  an  appeal  to  human  bitterness,  that  the  Apos- 
tle warns  the  disciples  of  Christ  not  to  reach  forth  their 
own  hands,  or  make  any  attempt  to  right  their  wrongs, 
and  then  comforts  them  with  the  thought,  not  that  the 
times  under  Gospel  influences  will  mend  for  the  better, 
but  that  the  Coming  of  the  Lord  draweth  nigh,  and  that 
He  is  coming  as  the  judge  to  right  His  people's  wrongs ; 
coming  not  to  receive  the  acclaim  of  the  righteous,  but 
to  execute  judgment  on  the  unrighteous. 

After  the  testimony  of  Saint  James  we  have  the  wit- 
ness of  Saint  Peter. 

He  says :  i  Peter  4 : 7,  12,  that  "  the  end  of  all  things 
is  at  hand." 

And  what  is  to  be  the  character  of  that  "  end  "  ? 

Not  peace  and  millennial  deliverance,  but 

"  The  fiery  trial  which  is  to  try  you." 


COURSE  OF  THIS  WORLD  139 

Let  us  pass  to  the  last  chapter  of  his  second  epistle. 
Chapter  3 :  3,  4. 

"  Knowing  this  first,  that  there  shall  come  in  the  last 
day  scoffers,  walking  after  their  own  lusts, 

And  saying,  Where  is  the  promise  of  his  coming?" 

This  passage  teaches : 

1.  There  will  be  scoffers. 

2.  These  scoffers  will  be  lust  walkers. 

3.  These  lustful  scoffers  will  mock  at  the  doctrine  of 
the  Second  Coming. 

Thus  whatever  else  the  Apostle  teaches,  he  does  teach 
that  when  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  comes  back: 

1.  He  will  not  find  a  converted  world,  a  world  rever- 
encing His  doctrine. 

2.  He  will  find  a  world  in  which  sinners  and  scoffers 
still  dwell. 

He  will  find  a  mocking  testimony  which  denies  the 
doctrine  of  His  return. 

Saint  John  is  the  apostle  of  love. 

If  anything  could  inspire  to  optimism  and  hope  it 
would  be  love,  the  love  of  God  swelling  through  the  soul 
as  it  swelled  through  his. 

Hear  what  the  beloved  disciple  says  concerning  the 
course  of  this  world  in  the  last  days : 

"  Little  children,  it  is  the  last  time :  and  as  ye  have 
heard  that  antichrist  shall  come,  even  now  are  there  many 
antichrists;  whereby  we  know  that  it  is  the  last  time." 
I  John  2:18. 

John  says: 

1.  Antichrist  will  come. 

2.  Already  many  antichrists  have  come. 

3.  The  distinctive  characteristic  of  the  last  time  will 
be  the  coming  of  The  Antichrist. 


140  THE   COMING    OF   CHRIST 

4.  The  distinctive  characteristic  of  this  distinctive 
Antichrist  is  the  denial  of  the  Father  and  the  Son;  and, 
therefore,  the  denial  of  the  whole  Godhead. 

Language  could  not  be  more  specific,  either  as  to  the 
character  of  the  last  days,  or  the  all  revealing  sign  of  the 
'  Antichrist. 

Listen ! 

The  characteristic  sign  of  the  last  days  will  be — what  ? 

Christianity  ? 

No !  the  characteristic  sign  of  the  last  day  will  be  Anti- 
christ, Antichristianity  1  3,  denial  and  rejection  of  Chris- 
tianity. 

The  characteristic  sign  of  the  Antichrist  will  be  the 
denial  of  the  Godhead  as  revealed  in  the  Scriptures. 

The  denial  of  Christianity ! 

The  denial  of  the  God  of  revelation! 

These  are  the  foretold  characteristics  of  the  last  times. 

Foretold  specially  by  the  Holy  Spirit  over  the  lips  of 
chosen  Apostles. 

By  what  authority  do  men  dare  to  tell  us  in  the  face 
of  these  statements  that  there  will  be  a  millennium,  a  tri- 
umph of  Christianity  and  the  Bible  before  the  Lord 
comes  ? 

But  let  us  take  up  the  testimony  of  Saint  Jude. 

"  Behold,  the  Lord  cometh  with  ten  thousand  of  his 
saints, 

'  To  execute  judgment  upon  all ;  and  to  convince  all  that 
are  ungodly  among  them  of  all  their  ungodly  deeds  which 
they  have  ungodly  committed,  and  of  all  their  hard 
speeches  which  ungodly  sinners  have  spoken  against 
him."    Jude  14,  15. 

Jude  says  when  the  Lord  comes  He  will  find  in  the 
earth  those  who  are  styled : 


COURSE  OF  THIS  WORLD  141 

1.  Ungodly. 

2.  Ungodly  sinners. 

In  verse  7  he  compares  the  moral  character  of  the  world 
to  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  and  thus  justifies  our  Lord's 
previous  use  of  them  as  an  illustration  of  the  closing 
hours  of  this  age. 

It  remains  for  us  to  examine  the  special  testimony  of 
the  Apostle  John,  as  set  forth  in  the  book  of  the  Revela- 
tion. 

In  the  opening  verses  of  that  book  we  get  a  glimpse 
of  the  attitude  of  the  world  in  relation  to  our  Lord's 
Coming. 

"  Behold,  he  cometh  with  clouds ;  and  every  eye  shall 
see  him,  and  they  also  which  pierced  him :  and  all  kin- 
dreds of  the  earth  shall  wail  because  of  him."  Revelation 
1:7. 

Is  this  the  attitude  of  a  world  for  a  thousand  years 
submitted  to  the  rule  and  reign  of  the  Gospel  ? 

Evidently  not! 

It  is  the  end  of  a  guilty,  God  defying,  Christ  rejecting 
world. 

Let  us  pass  to  the  sixth  chapter,  vs.  15,  16. 

"  And  the  kings  of  the  earth,  and  the  great  men,  and 
the  rich  men,  and  the  chief  captains,  and  the  mighty  men, 
and  every  bondman,  and  every  free  man,  hid  themselves- 
in  the  dens  and  in  the  rocks  of  the  mountains ; 

And  said  to  the  mountains  and  rocks,  Fall  on  us,  and 
hide  us  from  the  face  of  him  that  sitteth  on  tlue  throne, 
and  from  the  wrath  of  the  Lamb."  Revelation  6: 
15,  16. 

The  Apostle  here  says  that : 

I.  Before  Christ  comes  all  classes  of  society  will  be 
filled,  not  with  faith,  but  fear. 


142  THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST 

2.  Multitudes  will  seek  but  one  boon:  to  be  hidden 

FROM  THE  GAZE  OF  A  COMING  LoRD. 

3.  Men  will  pray,  not  to  the  Lord,  but  to  rocks  and 
mountains.  They  will  pray  for  rocks  and  mountains  to 
fall  on  them. 

4.  They  will  pray  one  prayer :  "  Hide  us  from  the 
FACE  of  Christ." 

Is  this  the  attitude  of  a  Gospel  loving,  Christ  surren- 
dered world? 

Let  us  take  up  the  testimony  of  the  eleventh  chapter. 

Here  we  have  the  picture  of  two  witnesses  coming 
forth  in  the  name  of  the  Lord.  A  certain  governmental 
power  symbolized  by  "  the  Beast,"  comes  up  against  them 
and  slays  them ;  all  the  world  make  merry  at  their  death 
and  send  congratulations  to  each  other  over  their  down- 
fall. 

"  And  when  they  shall  have  finished  their  testimony, 
the  beast  that  ascendeth  out  of  the  bottomless  pit  shall 
make  war  against  them,  and  shall  overcome  them,  and 
kill  them. 

And  their  dead  bodies  shall  lie  in  the  street  of  the 
great  city,  which  spiritually  is  called  Sodom  and  Egypt, 
where  also  our  Lord  was  crucified. 

And  they  of  the  people,  and  kindreds,  and  tongues,  and 
nations,  shall  see  their  dead  bodies  three  days  and  an  half, 
and  shall  not  suffer  their  dead  bodies  to  be  put  in  graves. 

And  they  that  dwell  upon  the  earth  shall  rejoice  over 
them,  and  make  merry,  and  shall  send  gifts  one  to  an- 
other; because  these  two  prophets  tormented  them  that 
dwell  on  the  earth."  Revelation  11 :  7-10. 

In  this  scene  we  learn: 

I.  Before  the  Coming  of  Christ  there  will  be  martyr- 
dom in  His  name. 


COURSE  OF  THIS  WORLD  143 

2.  The  world  will  sympathize  with  the  murderers  and 
not  with  the  martyrs. 

Take  up  the  twelfth  chapter. 

We  have  the  picture  of  a  war  in  Heaven. 

Satan,  the  old  Serpent,  the  Dragon,  the  Devil  is  cast 
out  into  the  earth.  The  voices  in  Heaven  announce  woe 
to  the  inhabiters  of  the  earth,  as  it  is  written : 

"  Woe !  to  the  inhabiters  of  the  earth,  and  of  the  sea ! 
for  the  devil  is  come  down  unto  you,  having  great  wrath, 
because  he  knoweth  that  he  hath  but  a  short  time."  Rev- 
elation 12:  12. 

The  first  verse  of  the  thirteenth  chapter  reads : 

"  And  I  stood  upon  the  sands  of  the  sea." 

This  verse  properly  belongs  to  the  last  line  of  the 
twelfth  chapter,  and  should  read: 

"  And  he  stood  upon  the  sand  of  the  sea." 

It  is  a  picture  of  the  Devil  after  his  expulsion  from 
Heaven  standing  on  the  borders  of  the  symbolic  sea, 
peoples,  nations,  and  tongues  in  commotion,  and  ready 
to  evoke  from  the  maelstrom  of  political  confusion  his 
last  great  master-piece,  his  established  and  manifested 
kingdom  on  earth. 

The  thirteenth  chapter  gives  us  a  picture  of  this  evoca- 
tion under  the  form  of  a  monstrous  beast  arising  out  of 
the  sea.   Revelation  13  :  i,  2. 

"  And  there  was  given  unto  him  a  mouth  speaking 
great  things  and  blasphemies.  .  .  .  And  he  opened  his 
mouth  in  blasphemy  against  God. 

And  it  was  given  unto  him  to  make  war  with  the  saints, 
and  to  overcome  them :  and  power  was  given  him  over  all 
kindreds,  and  tongues,  and  nations. 

And  all  that  dwell  upon  the  earth  shall  worship  him, 
whose  names  are  not  written  in  the  book  of  life  of  the 


144  THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST 

Lamb  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the  world."   Revela- 
tion 13:  5-8. 
Note: 

1.  Satan  is  cast  out  of  Heaven  into  the  earth. 

2.  Immediately  a  seven  headed,  ten  horned  beast  is 
seen  to  arise  and  draw  the  attention  of  the  whole  world 
after  it. 

3.  This  beast,  in  the  last  analysis,  is  the  head  of  some 
world  wide  kingdom.    He  is  a  man. 

4.  This  man  receives  his  power  from  the  Dragon,  the 
Devil,  Satan. 

We  are  told : 

"  The  dragon  gave  him  his  power,  and  his  seat  [throne] 
and  great  authority."  Revelation  13 :  2. 

5.  All  the  world  worships  the  man  who  receives 
power  and  authority  from  the  Dragon,  from  him  who  is 
"  that  old  serpent  called  the  Devil,  and  Satan."  Whatever 
else  may  be  taught  here,  this,  at  least,  is  taught : 

1.  In  the  closing  hours  of  this  age,  just  previous  to 
the  appearing  of  our  Lord  there  will  be  a  world  wide 
kingdom,  evoked  and  inspired  by  the  Devil ;  at  the  head 
of  it  a  man  who  is  possessed  of  all  the  Devil's  power  and 
authority. 

2.  This  head  of  a  kingdom,  this  world  ruler,  will  be 
pre-eminently  the  "  Devil's  Man." 

3.  The  world,  consciously  or  unconsciously,  will  wor- 
ship the  Devil  in  this  man. 

4.  The  closing  hours  of  this  age  will  show  the  world 
surrendered,  not  to  God's  Man,  but  to  the  Devil's 
Man. 

But  let  us  read  the  closing  picture  in  this  remarkable 
chapter. 

"  And  I  beheld  another  beast  coming  up  out  of  the 


COURSE  OF  THIS  WORLD  145 

earth ;  and  he  had  two  horns  Hke  a  lamb,  and  he  spake 
as  a  dragon. 

And  he  exerciseth  all  the  power  of  the  first  beast  before 
him,  and  causeth  the  earth  and  them  which 'dwell  therein 
to  worship  the  first  beast,  whose  deadly  wound  was 
healed. 

And  he  doeth  great  wonders,  so  that  he  maketh  fire 
come  down  from  heaven  on  the  earth  in  the  sight  of  men. 

And  deceiveth  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth  by  the 
means  of  those  miracles  which  he  had  power  to  do  in  the 
sight  of  the  beast :  saying  to  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth, 
that  they  should  make  an  image  to  the  beast,  which  had 
the  wound  by  a  sword  and  did  live. 

And  he  had  power  to  give  life  unto  the  image  of  the 
beast,  that  the  image  of  the  beast  should  both  speak,  and 
cause  that  as  many  as  would  not  worship  the  image  of 
the  beast  should  be  killed. 

And  he  causeth  all,  both  small  and  great,  rich  and  poor, 
free  and  bond,  to  receive  a  mark  in  their  right  hand,  or  in 
their  foreheads: 

And  that  no  man  should  buy  or  sell,  save  he  that  had 
the  mark,  or  the  name  of  the  beast,  or  the  number  of  his 
name."   Revelation  13:11-17. 

We  learn  here: 

1.  A  false  prophet  will  appear  in  the  name  and  behalf 
of  the  Devil's  Man. 

2.  He  will  lead  the  world  to  worship  the  Devil's  Man. 

3.  He  will  do  great  miracles  in  the  name  of  this  man. 

4.  He  will  deceive  those  who  dwell  on  the  earth. 

5.  He  will  so  deceive  men,  even  in  their  very  "  eye- 
sight "  that  they  will  believe  and  worship  the  image  of 
this  man  as  full  of  life  and  breath. 

6.  All  who  would  do  business  must  carry  the  mark  of 


146  THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST 

this  beast,  the  first  beast,  his  name,  or  the  number  of  his 
name. 

7.  Those  who  refuse  to  worship  the  beast  will  be  be- 
headed. 

8.  Those  who  attempt  to  maintain  the  name  of  Christ 
are  made  to  suffer  unto  death. 

9.  It  is  a  time  not  of  peace,  but  war  on  the  earth. 

10.  It  is  a  time  not  of  heaven,  but  of  hell  on  the  earth. 
Can  a  more  terrible  picture  be  given? 

And  this  is  a  picture  of  the  world  just  at  the  close  of 
this  age,  just  before  the  Lord  returns ;  a  world  ruled  and 
tortured  by  Antichrist;  a  world  worshiping  and  giving 
praise  to  the  Devil's  Man. 

In  the  face  of  such  testimony  what  temerity,  or  igno- 
rance it  requires  to  talk  of  a  millennium  before  Christ 
comes. 

The  fourteenth  chapter,  in  its  closing  verses  again 
shows  the  condition  of  the  earth  just  previous  to  the 
Lord's  Coming. 

"  And  I  looked,  and  behold  a  white  cloud,  and  upon  the 
cloud  one  sat  like  unto  the  Son  of  man,  having  on  his 
head  a  golden  crown,  and  in  his  hand  a  sharp  sickle. 

And  another  angel  came  out' of  the  temple,  crying  with 
a  loud  voice  to  him  that  sat  on  the  cloud.  Thrust  in  thy 
sickle  and  reap :  for  the  time  is  come  for  thee  to  reap ;  for 
the  harvest  of  the  earth  is  ripe. 

And  he  that  sat  on  the  cloud  thrust  in  his  sickle  on  the 
earth ;  and  the  earth  was  reaped. 

And  another  angel  came  out  of  the  temple  which  is  in 
heaven,  he  also  having  a  sharp  sickle. 

And  another  angel  came  out  from  the  altar,  which  had 
power  over  fire ;  and  cried  with  a  loud  cry  to  him  that 
had  the  sharp  sickle,  saying,  Thrust  in  thy  sharp  sickle, 


COURSE  OF.  THIS  WORLD  147 

and  gather  the  clusters  of  the  vine  of  the  earth ;  for  her 
grapes  are  fully  ripe. 

And  the  angel  thrust  in  his  sickle  into  the  earth,  and 
gathered  the  vine  of  the  earth,  and  cast  it  into  the  great 
winepress  of  the  wrath  of  God. 

And  the  winepress  was  trodden  without  the  city,  and 
blood  came  out  of  the  winepress,  even  unto  the  horse- 
bridles,  by  the  space  of  a  thousand  and  six  hundred  fur- 
longs." Revelation  14 :  14-20. 

We  have  here  two  pictures: 

1.  The  Coming  of  the  Son  of  man  in  the  cloud  of 
Heaven. 

2.  The  harvest  which  He  reaps  at  His  Coming. 

The  harvest,  He,  Himself,  has  told  us  in  Matthew  13 : 
39,  "  is  the  end  of  the  world  "  (the  age). 

What  is  that  end  as  seen  here? 

The  world,  not  only  as  a  harvest  field  where  the  sickle 
of  judgment  separates  the  "  wheat  from  the  tares,"  but 
the  earth  turned  into  the  "winepress  of  the  wrath  of 
God,"  and  blood!  blood  spurting  out  to  the  bridles  of 
horses. 

But  let  us  turn  to  the  sixteenth  chapter. 

"  For  they  [the  spirits  of  devils,  demons]  go  forth  unto 
the  kings  of  the  earth  and  of  the  whole  world,  to  gather 
them  to  the  battle  of  that  great  day  of  God  Almighty." 
Revelation  16:14. 

Here  you  have  the  whole  world  preparing  for  war,  for 
some  great  and  final  battle,  a  battle  that  continues  up  to 
the  moment  when  the  Almighty  Lord  is  revealed  in  His 
power. 

In  the  seventeenth  chapter  we  behold  ten  kings  associ- 
ated with  the  Devil's  Man,  giving  him  all  their  power 
and  support,   and  with  him  organized  in  open  battle 


148  THE   COMING    OF   CHRIST 

against  the  Lord  at  the  moment  of  His  Coming,  as  It  is 
written :  "  And  the  ten  horns  which  thou  sawest  are  ten 
kings,  which  have  received  no  kingdom  as  yet;  but  re- 
ceive power  as  kings  one  hour  [at  the  same  time]  with 
the  beast. 

These  have  one  mind,  and  shall  give  their  power  and 
strength  unto  the  beast.  These  shall  make  war  with  the 
Lamb."  Revelation  17 :  12-14. 

What  a  picture! 

A  world  in  arms  at  the  Coming  of  Christ. 

In  the  nineteenth  chapter  we  have  a  final  picture  of  the 
state  and  condition  of  the  world  at  the  Coming  of  the 
Lord.  i 

The  door  in  Heaven  opens  and  the  Lord  comes  out  with 
the  army  of  His  saints  in  glory. 

And  what  does  He  find? 

Let  verse  19  answer. 

"  And  I  saw  the  beast,  and  the  kings  of  the  earth,  and 
their  armies,  gathered  together  to  make  war  against  him 
that  sat  on  the  horse." 

That  is  the  attitude  of  the  world  on  the  eve  of  His 
Coming. 

"  Gathered  together  to  make  war  against  Him." 

A  Christ-rejecting,  Christ-defying  world  to  the  last. 

The  testimony  concerning  the  course  of  this  world  dur- 
ing the  absence  of  our  Lord  is  now  all  in. 

This  testimony  has  been  unbroken. 

The  world  will  go  on  in  sin  and  folly ;  in  spite  of  every 
advance  in  art  or  literature,  or  science  it  will  steadily 
depart  from  God  and  His  ways. 

Our  Lord  says  the  condition  of  the  world  morally  will 
be  as  it  was  in  the  days  of  Noah ;  as  it  was  in  the  days 
of  Lot. 


COURSE.  OF  THIS  WORLD    ,  149 

Paul  announces  that  the  end  of  the  age  will  be  full  of 
peril,  that  Antichrist  will  come  and  the  whole  world  de- 
ceived, caught  in  his  snare,  will  be  carried  captive  of  him 
at  his  will. 

James  says  that  the  last  days  will  see  wealth  and  wages 
arrayed  against  each  other ;  luxury  on  the  one  hand,  pov- 
erty on  the  other;  wanton  enjoyment  of  hoarded  wealth 
and  sorrow  and  pain  because  of  the  lack  of  it ;  cruelty  and 
oppression  crying  aloud  to  the  God  of  Heaven  from  the 
lips  of  unpaid  toil  as  of  old  from  the  brick  kilns  of  Egypt. 

Peter  says  there  will  be  lustful  materialism  and  mock- 
ery of  the  Coming  of  the  Lord. 

Jude  says  the  world  will  be  filled  with  ungodly  sinners, 
full  of  hard  speeches  against  God. 

John  fills  the  canvas  with  many  and  broadly  touched 
pictures ;  each  of  them  full  of  realistic  situations  in  which 
the  world  is  seen  shivering  with  fear  or  shouting  with 
blasphemy,  and  closes  with  a  dramatic  delineation  of  a 
world  in  arms  against  the  coming  King. 

Such  is  the  testimony,  beginning  with  our  Lord  and 
ending  with  the  disciple  who  leaned  upon  His  breast. 

We  have  sought  to  answer  three  questions. 

1.  What  would  be  the  ratio  of  the  Gospel  in  this  age? 

2.  What  would  be  the  history  of  the  professing 
church  ? 

3.  What  would  be  the  course  and  development  of  the 
world  ? 

Would  the  Gospel  be  universally  received? 

Would  the  church  become  the  triumphant  factor  in 
the  world? 

Would  the  world  permeated  by  the  Gospel  of  the  grace 
of  God,  yield  at  last,  and  thus  the  kingdoms  of  this  world 
become  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord  and  His  Christ? 


150  THE   COMING    OF   CHRIST 

Would  the  great  millennial  era  then  open? 

We  have  found  these  questions  answered. 

The  Gospel  would  not  be  universally  received. 

The  church  would  not  become  triumphant. 

The  world  would  not  be  conquered  by  the  church. 

There  would  ho.  no  Millennium  before  the  Coming  of 
the  Lord. 

The  Gospel  would  be  hindered  by  the  World,  the  Flesh 
and  the  Devil  until  the  end. 

The  professing  church  would  be  invaded  of  Satan,  re- 
jected by  the  Lord,  "  spewed  "  out  of  His  mouth,  and  at 
the  last  rejected  of  the  Devil  himself,  as  the  debauchee 
repudiates  the  mistress  of  whom  he  is  tired. 

The  world  would  go  on  in  increasing  sin  and  infidelity, 
and  flinging  itself  finally  in  open  and  Devil  led  rebellion, 
be  found  in  warlike  array  against  God  and  His  coming 
Christ. 

Such  is  the  story  of  the  Gospel,  the  Church  and  the 
World  while  the  thorn  crowned,  crucified  and  repudiated 
Christ  is  away.  ^ 


THE  INTRODUCTION  OF  THE 

KINGDOM 

(The  Testimony  of  Christ.) 


"THE  SON  OF  MAN  SHALL  COME  IN  HIS  GLORY 
*  *  *  THEN  SHALL  HE  SIT  UPON  THE  THRONE  OF 
HIS  GLORY:  AND  BEFORE  HIM  SHALL  BE  GATHERED 
ALL  [THE]  NATIONS  *  *  *  THEN  SHALL  THE  KING 
SAY  UNTO  THEM  ON  HIS  RIGHT  HAND,  COME  *  *  * 
INHERIT  THE  KINGDOM."— Matthew  25:31-34. 


CHAPTER   XII 

Cl)e  antroDuction  of  tfie  IKingDom 

(The  Testimony  of  Christ.) 

Christ  the  Lord  is  a  King. 

He  has  a  kingdom. 

He  will  reign  in  time  on  this  earth  a  thousand  years. 

He  will  have  His  Millennial  reign. 

How  will  it  be  introduced? 

By  the  Gospel  or  by  Judgments  at  the  personal 
appearing  of  the  Lord? 

The  question  has  in  measure  been  answered. 

A  partially  received  Gospel,  a  faithless  church  and  a 
rebel  world  all  answer  the  question. 

But  the  issue  may  be  narrowed. 

We  can  stand  on  the  threshold  of  the  kingdom  in  the 
opening  hours  of  the  thousand  years,  and  we  can  ask: 
"  What  is  here  ?  the  Gospel  or  Judgment  ?  the  Millennium 
or  the  Coming  of  the  Lord  ?  " 

The  examination  will  take  us  over  old  ground.  We 
shall  hear  familiar  witnesses  but  we  shall  receive  the  truth 
from  different  angles. 

By  repeating,  re-examining,  and  holding  the  truth  up 
to  the  play  of  the  light  from  every  possible  direction,  we 
shall  behold,  without  the  lingering  suspicion  of  a  shadow, 
the  answer  we  seek. 

Our  Lord  stands  in  priority  as  witness. 

He  gives  His  testimony  in  that  remarkable  chapter 
already  examined:  Matthew  13. 

Let  us  read  from  verse  40  to  43  inclusive : 

153 


154  THE   COMING    OF   CHRIST 

"  As  therefore  the  tares  are  gathered  and  burned  in  the 
fire ;  so  shall  it  be  in  the  end  of  this  world. 

The  Son  of  man  shall  send  forth  his  angels,  and  they 
shall  gather  out  of  his  kingdom  all  things  that  offend, 
and  them  which  do  iniquity; 

And  shall  cast  them  into  a  furnace  of  fire :  there  shall 
be  wailing  and  gnashing  of  teeth. 

Then  shall  the  righteous  shine  forth  as  the  sun  in  the 
kingdom  of  their  Father.  Who  hath  ears  to  hear,  let 
him  hear." 

The  word  translated  "  world  "  is  "  age  "  or  "  dispensa- 
tion." 

The  end  of  the  world  is  the  end  of  the  age,  the  end  of 
this  dispensation,  the  time  of  our  Lord's  absence. 

Our  Lord  therefore  declares : 

1.  This  dispensation  will  end  in  judgment  on  those 
who  do  iniquity. 

2.  Angels  will  be  the  executors  of  the  judgment. 

3.  The  Son  of  God  will  be  present  as  the  Son  of  man, 
therefore  as  the  judge,  directing  the  execution  of  the 
judgments. 

4.  After  the  execution  of  the  judgments  the  righteous 
shall  shine  forth  as  the  revelation  of  the  kingdom. 

Whatever  else  is  taught  it  is  taught  clearly : 

1.  That  the  kingdom  of  the  Father  and  the  Son  is  not 
introduced  by  the  Gospel. 

2.  It  is  introduced  by  judgments. 

3.  It  is  introduced  by  judgments  at  the  personal 
Coming  of  the  Lord. 

Let  us  turn  to  the  parable  of  the  drag  net. 
"  Again  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  a  net,  that 
was  cast  into  the  sea,  and  gathered  of  every  kind : 

Which,  when  it  was  full,  they  drew  to  shore,  and  sat 


INTRODUCTION  OF  THE  KINGDOM      155 

down,  and  gathered  the  good  into  vessels,  but  cast  the 
bad  away. 

So  shall  it  be  at  the  end  of  the  world :  the  angels  shall 
come  forth,  and  sever  the  wicked  from  among  the 
just; 

And  shall  cast  them  into  the  furnace  of  fire :  there  shall 
be  wailing  and  gnashing  of  teeth."    Matthew  13 :  47-50. 

Again  we  have  the  "  end  of  the  world." 

Again  we  have  the  declaration  that, 

1.  This  age  ends  with  judgment  from  heaven. 

2.  It  ends  with  judgment  from  the  presence  of  the 
Lord  about  to  appear  in  glory  from  heaven. 

3.  The  kingdom  comes  in  only  after  the  execution  of 
judgment  on  the  world. 

We  now  may  pass  to  the  familiar  chapter:  Matthew 
25:31-46. 

The  Son  of  man  is  seen  coming  in  glory. 

He  sits  upon  the  throne  of  His  glory. 

All  nations  are  gathered  before  Him. 

The  judgment  is  set. 

There  is  a  process  of  judgment  which  ends  in  the 
separation  of  one  party,  called  the  sheep,  from  another 
party,  called  the  goats. 

Two  gates  open  out  of  this  judgment  process. 

One  gate  opens  into  the  kingdom. 

The  other  gate  opens  into  everlasting  fire  prepared  for 
the  Devil  and  his  angels. 

From  this  we  learn, 

1.  Christ  is  coming  in  personal  glory. 

2.  He  is  coming  back  as  a  judge. 

3.  After  the  judgment  He  will  reveal  His  kingdom 
and  the  rewards  of  it. 

Let  us  now  read  Luke  17:26-30. 


156  THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST 

"  And  as  it  was  in  the  days  of  Noe,  so  shall  it  be  also  .in 
the  days  of  the  Son  of  man. 

They  did  eat,  they  drank,  they  married  wives,  they 
were  given  in  marriage,  until  the  day  that  Noe  entered 
into  the  ark,  and  the  flood  came,  and  destroyed  them  all. 

Likewise  also  as  it  was  in  the  days  of  Lot ;  they  did  eat, 
they  drank,  they  bought,  they  sold,  they  planted,  they 
builded ; 

But  the  same  day  that  Lot  went  out  of  Sodom,  it  rained 
fire  and  brimstone  from  heaven,  and  destroyed  them  all. 

Even  thus  shall  it  be  in  the  day  when  the  Son  of  man 
is  revealed." 

Let  us  note  here : 

1.  The  judgment  of  the  flood. 

2.  After  the  flood  Noah  and  his  family  came  out 
under  a  new  heavens  into  a  new  earth. 

Thus  the  Lord  teaches : 

1.  He  is  coming  as  the  flood  came,  that  is,  in 
judgment. 

2.  After  He  has  judged  the  world,  the  saved  ones, 
like  Noah,  will  come  forth  into  a  new  regime,  a  new 
dispensation  of  God. 

The  Lord  therefore  teaches  that  a  new  era  of  peace 
and  security  will  come  in  the  earth  after  His  personal 
appearing  in  judgment;  as  the  new  era  of  peace  and 
prosperity  is  the  thousand  years,  the  millennium,  then 
He  teaches  in  this  figure  that  the  millennium  is  to  be 
introduced  by  judgment  at  His  personal  appearing. 

As  for  Sodom ! 

Sodom  represents  the  art  and  culture  of  the  hour. 

It  ends  in  judgment  from  heaven. 

It  ends  in  judgment  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  they  are 
"  buying  and  selling."    Thus  again  would  the  Lord  teach 


INTRODUCTION  OF  THE  KINGDOM     157 

that  this  age  with  all  its  culture,  all  its  materialistic 
"  progress,"  does  not  flower  out  under  Gospel  energy 
into  the  millennial  era,  but  finds  its  fiery  doom  at  the 
hands  of  a  coming  and  judging  Lord. 

In  Luke  19 :  27,  we  have  a  brief  but  significant 
statement : 

"  But  those  mine  enemies,  which  would  not  that  I 
should  reign  over  them,  bring  hither,  and  slay  them 
before  me." 

"  And  when  he  had  thus  spoken,"  it  is  added,  "  he  went 
up  ...  to  Jerusalem."  Which  is  the  city  of  the 
"  Great  King,"  and  the  capital  of  the  kingdom. 

The  Nobleman  had  been  in  the  far  country. 

He  had  received  the  title  deeds  to  the  kingdom. 

He  comes  back  to  establish  it. 

His  first  step  is  to  call  his  servants  and  deal  with  them 
and  reward  them. 

The  next  step  is  to  deal  with  his  enemies. 

He  deals  with  them  in  judgment  and  commands  them 
to  be  put  to  death. 

When  the  enemies  have  been  executed  his  kingdom  is 
established. 

Thus  we  learn  clearly  enough : 

1.  The  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  coming  back  from  heaven 
with  authority  to  set  up  His  kingdom. 

2.  He  will  enter  into  judgment  and  slay  His  enemies. 

3.  After  He  has  executed  judgment  on  His  enemies. 
He  will  personally  set  up  the  kingdom. 

We  turn  to  Luke  21 :  2.J, 

"  And  then  shall  they  see  the  Son  of  man  coming  in  a 
cloud  with  power  and  great  glory." 
But  when?    Read  vs.  25,  2(>. 
And  there  shall  be  signs  in  the  sun,  and  in  the  moon, 


^^ 


158  THE   COMING    OF   CHRIST 

and  in  the  stars ;  and  upon  the  earth  distress  of  nations, 
with  perplexity ;  the  sea  and  the  waves  roaring ; 

Men's  hearts  failing  them  for  fear,  and  for  looking 
after  those  things  which  are  coming  on  the  earth ;  for  the 
powers  of  heaven  shall  be  shaken." 

The  Son  of  man  is  coming  then  at  a  time  of  anguish 
and  sorrow  on  the  earth.  Coming  when  the  heavens  are 
shaking  with  the  evidences  of  His  wrath ;  as  He  says : 

"  I  will  shake  the  heavens,  and  the  earth,  and  the  sea." 
Haggai  2 : 6. 

That  is  to  say : 

The  kingdom  and  glory  of  Christ  will  be  introduced 
and  revealed,  not  by  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel,  but  by 
His  appearing  in  wrathful  judgment  on  the  earth. 

This  is  the  testimony  of  the  Son  of  God. 

From  first  to  last  He  testifies  that  Hi&  kingdom  is  to  be 
introduced  by  His  personal  Coming  and  associated 
judgments  on  the  earth. 

Nowhere  in  all  His  testimony  is  there  the  slightest  hint 
or  imagination  that  the  Gospel  would  be  used  as  the 
introducing  factor. 

The  dispensation  is  seen  closing  amid  the  movement  of 
the  heavens,  the  turmoil  of  the  earth,  the  going  forth  of 
angelic  executors,  the  shining  glory  of  a  coming  judge 
and  the  opening  of  the  gates  of  woe. 

Judgment  is  the  thunder  word  that  rolls  along  the 
threshold  of  the  kingdom.  The  thunder  voice  that 
proclaims  the  beginning  of  the  kingdom. 


THE  INTRODUCTION  OF  THE 

KINGDOM 

(The  Testimony  of  the  Apostles.) 


"HE  COMETH  WITH  CLOUDS;  AND  EVERY  EYE 
SHALL  SEE  HIM;  AND  ALL  KINDREDS  OF  THE 
EARTH  SHALL  WAIL  BECAUSE  OF  HIM/'— Revelation 
1 : 7 

'"AND  HE  LAID  HOLD  ON  THE  DRAGON,  THAT  OLD 
SERPENT,  WHICH  IS  THE  DEVIL,  AND  SATAN,  AND 
BOUND  HIM  A  THOUSAND  YEARS."— Rev.  20:2. 

"AND  THEY  LIVED  AND  REIGNED  WITH  CHRIST 
A  THOUSAND  YEARS."— Revelation  20:4. 


CHAPTER   XIII 

C6e  3IntroDuction  of  tU  iSingDom 

(The  Testimony  of  the  Apostles.) 

In  the  book  of  Acts  15:  13-17,  we  have  the  address  of 
the  Apostle  James  before  the  first  universal  council  of  the 
church,  held  at  Antioch.    The  Apostle  says : 

"  Men  and  brethren,  hearken  unto  me : 

Simeon  hath  declared  how  God  at  the  first  did  visit  the 
Gentiles,  to  take  out  of  them  a  people  for  his  name. 

And  to  this  agree  the  words  of  the  prophets:  as  it  is 
written, 

After  this  I  will  return,  and  will  build  again  the  taber- 
nacle of  David,  which  is  fallen  down ;  and  I  will  build 
again  the  ruins  thereof,  and  I  will  set  it  up : 

That  the  residue  of  men  might  seek  after  the  Lord,  and 
all  the  Gentiles  upon  whom  my  name  is  called,  saith  the 
Lord,  who  doeth  all  these  things." 

The  Apostle  declares  that, 

1.  The  Lord  is  taking  out  from  among  the  Gentiles 
a  people  for  His  name. 

2.  After  He  has  taken  out  this  people  He  will  return. 

3.  After  He  returns  He  will  set  up  the  kingdom 
foretold  by  the  prophets. 

Thus  we  learn : 

1.  The  kingdom  will  not  be  set  up  while  the  Lord  is 
away. 

2.  It  will  be  set  up  only  after  His  return. 
Therefore  it  is  evident : 

I.  The  kingdom  is  not  set  up  by  the  preaching  of  the 
Gospel. 

161 


i62  THE   COMING    OF   CHRIST 

2.  It  is  set  up  only  by  the  personal  appearing  of  the 
Lord. 

3.  As  that  appearing  is  always  in  connection  with 
judgments  executed  on  the  earth,  then  the  kingdom  is  set 
up,  is  introduced,  only  by  judgment  at  the  Coming  of 
the  Lord. 

Let  us  now  listen  to  Paul  in  2  Thessalonians  i :  5. 

"  That  ye  may  be  counted  worthy  of  the  kingdom  of 
God." 

The  Apostle  thus  positively  states  that  the  kingdom  in 
his  day  was  still  future. 

The  verses  which  follow  show  how  the  kingdom  is  to 
be  introduced. 

"  And  to  you  who  are  troubled,  rest  with  us ;  when  the 
Lord  Jesus  shall  be  revealed  from  heaven  with  his  mighty 
angels. 

In  flaming  fire  taking  vengeance  on  them  that  know 
not  God,  and  that  obey  not  the  gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ : 

Who  shall  be  punished  with  everlasting  destruction 
from  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  and  the  glory  of  his 
power ; 

When  he  shall  come  to  be  glorified  in  his  saints,  and  to 
be  admired  in  all  them  that  believe."  2  Thessalonians 
1:7-10. 

Note  here  that, 

1.  The  Lord  is  coming.  1 

2.  He  is  coming  in  flaming  fire. 

3.  He  is  coming  to  punish. 

This  is  not  the  picture  of  a  converted  world  gliding 
with  imperceptible  transition  into  the  manifested  king- 
dom and  glory  of  the  Lord,  but  a  world  scorched  and 
burned  with  the  down  sweeping  fires  of  judgment,  burn- 


INTRODUCTION  OF  THE  KINGDOM     163 

ing  up  and  destroying  the  dross,  that  the  kingdom  may 
be  revealed  and  the  righteous  shine  forth  without  evil  or 
sin  to  molest  them. 

In  the  second  chapter  we  read  that  Antichrist  is  to 
come,  to  sit  in  the  very  temple  of  God,  win  for  a  time  the 
worship  of  the  world  and  then  be  overthrown  of  the 
Lord. 

But  how  is  he  to  be  overthrown  ? 

By  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  and  the  gradual 
dissemination  of  the  truth  till  the  hearts  of  men  are 
enthroned  of  God? 

Hear  what  is  written : 

"  And  then  shall  that  Wicked  be  revealed,  whom  the 
Lord  shall  consume  with  the  Spirit  of  his  mouth,  and  shall 
destroy  with  the  brightness  of  his  coming."  2  Thessa- 
lonians  2 : 8. 

The  following  verses  show  that  previous  to  that  ap- 
pearing in  glory  the  Lord  sends  the  judgment  of  "  strong 
delusion  "  on  the  unbelieving  and  Christ  rejecting  world, 
as  it  is  written: 

"  God  shall  send  them  strong  delusion  that  they  should 
believe  a  [the]  lie."    v.  11. 

The  world  has  been  unwilling  to  receive  the  Truth, 
the  Christ  of  God  who  is  the  Way,  the  Truth  and  the 
Life.  He  sends  strong  delusion  upon  them,  so  that  when 
Antichrist  is  revealed  they  may  be  deceived  by  him  and 
fall  down  before  him,  owning  the  lie  as  the  truth. 

Thus  the  whole  atmosphere  is  one  of  moral  and 
hardening  judgment. 

The  Coming  of  the  Lord  is  the  climax  and  the 
accentuation  of  judgment. 

The  Devil's  Man  is  overthrown  and  the  kingdom 
brought  in  by  judgment,  and  nothing  but  judgment. 


i64  THE   COMING    OF   CHRIST 

In  his  epistle  to  Timothy,  the  Apostle  clearly  indicates 
that  the  world  is  to  be  convinced  of  the  truth  of  Christ 
and  His  sole  right  to  reign  as  supreme  King,  by  His 
personal  appearing. 

"  Keep  this  commandment  without  spot,  unrebukable, 
until  the  appearing  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ; 

Which  in  his  times  he  shall  shew,  who  is  the  blessed 
and  only  Potentate,  the  King  of  kings,  and  Lord  of 
lords."   I  Timothy  6 :  13,  14. 

Thus  he  says : 

1.  The  Lord  will  appear. 

2.  His  appearing  will  bring  m  His  "  times,"  His  hour. 
His  day. 

3.  He  will  "  shew  " ;  that  is,  "  prove,"  that  He  is  the 
only  true  King  and  Lord  supreme. 

4.  His  proving  Himself  as  such  is  in  contrast  to  other 
kings  and  lords  who  dispute  His  authority ;  as  it  is  writ- 
ten :  "  I  saw  the  beast,  and  the  kings  of  the  earth,  and 
their  armies,  gathered  together  to  make  war  against 
him."   Revelation  19:19. 

5.  His  "  shewing  "  Himself  against  the  kings  of  the 
earth  is  in  the  way,  necessarily,  of  judgment;  and  thus 
His  Coming,  is  a  coming  in  judgment. 

The  final  testimony  of  the  Apostle  Paul  may  be  found 
in  Hebrews  12 :  25-29. 

"  See  that  ye  refuse  not  him  that  speaketh.  For  if  they 
escape  not  who  refused  him  that  spake  on  earth,  much 
more  shall  not  we  escape  if  we  turn  away  from  him  that 
speaketh  from  heaven: 

Whose  voice  then  shook  the  earth ;  but  now  hath  he 
promised,  saying.  Yet  once  more  I  shake  not  the  earth 
only,  but  also  heaven. 

And  this  word.  Yet  once  more,  signifieth  the  removing 


INTRODUCTION  OF  THE  KINGDOM     165 

of  those  things  that  are  shaken,  as  of  things  that  are 
made,  that  those  things  which  cannot  be  shaken  may 
remain. 

Wherefore  we  receiving  a  kingdom  which  cannot  be 
moved,  let  us  have  grace,  whereby  we  may  serve  God  ac- 
ceptably with  reverence  and  godly  fear. 

For  our  God  is  a  consuming  fire." 

The  Apostle  is  here  quoting  from  the  prophet  Haggai 
2:6,7. 

"  Thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  Yet  once  more  .  .  .  and 
I  will  shake  the  heavens,  and  the  earth,  and  the  sea,  and 
the  dry  land; 

And  I  will  shake  all  nations,  and  the  desire  of  all  na- 
tions shall  come :  and  I  will  fill  this  house  [the  temple  at 
Jerusalem]  with  glory,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts." 

From  this  we  learn: 

1.  The  Lord  will  shake  the  heavens  and  the  earth. 

2.  He  will  shake  them  as  the  God  of  Sinai,  the  God 
who  is  a  "  consuming  fire,"  the  God  who  is  law  and 
judgment. 

3.  He  will  shake  the  heavens  and  the  earth  that  every 
thing  which  is  not  of  Him  may  be  overthrown ;  hence,  the 
"  shaking  "  is  a  manifestation  of  judgment. 

4.  After  the  shaking  or  in  connection  with  it,  He  will 
come  to  His  temple  at  Jerusalem. 

5.  He  will  come  to  set  up  the  "  kingdom  which  cannot 
be  moved." 

From  this  it  is  evident: 

1.  That  the  "  kingdom  which  cannot  be  moved,"  is  not 
set  up  by  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel. 

2.  It  is  set  up  by  the  Coming  of  the  Lord  as  the  Shaker 
of  the  heavens  and  the  earth  and  as  "  consuming 
fire." 


l66  THE   COMING    OF   CHRIST 

3.  It  is  set  up  in  the  midst  of  an  action  shattering  the 
earth  that  the  "  wicked  might  be  shaken  out  of  it."  Job 

38:13- 

Such  a  shaking  is  judgment  pure  and  simple. 

Thus  Paul's  last  word  is  that  the  kingdom  is  introduced 
not  by  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel,  but  by  the  Coming  of 
the  Lord  in  Judgment. 

From  the  Apostle  Paul  we  pass  to  the  testimony  of  the 
conservative  Apostle  James. 

"  The  coming  of  the  Lord  draweth  nigh  .  .  .  the  Judge 
standeth  before  the  door."  James  5 : 8,  9. 

The  analysis  is  self-evident 

1.  The  Lord  is  coming. 

2.  He  is  coming  as  a  Judge. 

An  examination  of  the  preceding  verses  will  make  the 
force  of  the  statement  all  the  more  significant. 

These  verses  describe  a  time  of  desperate  trouble;  of 
conflict  between  classes.  There  are  those  among  Chris- 
tians whose  wages  are  kept  back;  who  feel  incensed  at 
the  cupidity  and  cruelty  of  those  who  by  means  of  their 
wealth  tyrannize  over  the  poor,  treat  them  unjustly  and 
make  them  suffer;  they  are  tempted  to  take  matters  in 
their  own  hands  and  right  their  wrongs.  The  Apostle 
exhorts  to  calmness.  He  declares  that  the  evil  is  mon- 
strous enough  to  cry  aloud  to  heaven  for  adjustment ;  that 
in  fact  the  cry  has  reached  the  ears  of  the  Lord  of  Sa- 
baoth,  and  that  the  Coming  of  this  Lord  draweth  nigh; 
yea,  He  is  even  "before  the  door/'  and  is  there  as  the 
Judge,  coming  to  right  the  wrong  Himself 

Let  us  hear  what  Jude  says. 

He  quotes  from  Enoch,  the  seventh  from  Adam : 

"  And  Enoch  also,  the  seventh  from  Adam,  prophesied 
of  these,  saying,  Behold,  the  Lord  cometh  with  ten  thou- 
sands of  his  saints, 


INTRODUCTION  OF  THE  KINGDOM     167 

To  execute  judgment." 

Thus  Jude  agrees  that  the  kingdom  is  to  be  introduced 
by  judgment  at  the  Coming  of  the  Lord. 

And  now,  as  we  have  done  before,  let  us  pass  to  the 
special  testimony  of  the  Apostle  John,  in  the  book  of 
the  Revelation. 

We  will  take  up  the  sixth  chapter. 

But  in  order  to  appreciate  its  force  we  must  take  our 
standpoint  in  the  fifth  chapter. 

The  fifth  chapter  represents  a  scene  in  Heaven. 

The  Lord  Jesus  is  shown  in  the  court  of  glory  as  a 
Lamb  that  had  once  been  slain.  He  is  identified  by  the 
titles  which  are  'given  him  as  the  Lion  of  the  tribe  of 
Judah,  the  Root  of  David. 

A  book  is  held  in  the  right  hand  of  the  majesty  on 
high,  in  the  hand  of  Him  who  sitteth  on  the  throne  of 
the  universe. 

The  book  is  written  on  both  sides,  rolled  up  and  sealed 
with  seven  seals.  No  one  has  been  able  to  open  the  book 
or  even  to  look  upon  it,  and  John,  who  has  been  watching 
the  transcendent  scene,  has  been  moved  to  tears  because 
no  one  has  been  able  to  take  the  book  and  break  the  seals ; 
but  presently,  the  Lord  Jesus  comes  to  the  great  throne- 
sitter  and  takes  the  book  out  of  His  hand. 

Immediately  all  heaven  breaks  forth  into  song,  and  the 
voices  cry: 

"  Thou  art  worthy  to  take  the  book,  and  to  open  the 
seals  thereof:  for  thou  wast  slain,  and  hast  redeemed  us 
to  God  by  thy  blood,  out  of  every  kindred,  and  tongue, 
and  people,  and  nation; 

And  hast  made  us  unto  our  God  kings  and  priests :  and 
we  shall  reign  on  the  earth."  Revelation  5 : 9,  10. 

Not  only  does  heaven  sing  but  voices  from  the  earth 
join  in  the  great  acclamation. 


i68  THE   COMING   OF.   CHRIST 

It  is  a  song  of  triumph,  proclaiming  that  the  hour  of 
the  rule,  the  reign  and  glory  of  the  King,  is  at  hand ;  that 
the  kingdom  so  long  promised  is  about  to  be  made  mani- 
fest in  power  on  the  earth. 

This  book  has  to  do  with  the  kingdom. 

Such  a  book  was  written,  subscribed,  sealed  and  rolled 
when  Jeremiah  purchased  a  plot  of  ground  in  Anathoth 
of  Hanameel,  the  son  of  Shallum,  his  uncle.     He  says: 

"  And  I  bought  the  field  of  Hanameel,  my  uncle's  son, 
that  was  in  Anathoth,  and  weighed  him  the  money,  even 
seventeen  shekels  of  silver. 

And  I  subscribed  the  evidence,  and  sealed  it,  and  took 
witnesses,  and  weighed  him  the  money  in  the  balances. 

So  I  took  the  evidence  of  the  purchase,  both  that  which 
was  sealed  according  to  the  law  and  custom,  and  that 
which  was  open. 

And  I  gave  the  evidence  of  the  purchase  unto  Baruch 
the  son  of  Neriah,  the  son  of  Maaseiah,  in  the  sight  of 
Hanameel  mine  uncle's  son,  and  in  the  presence  of  the 
witnesses  that  subscribed  the  book  of  the  purchase,  be- 
fore all  the  Jews  that  sat  in  the  court  of  the  prison." 
Jeremiah  32:  9-12. 

It  was  a  book  similar  to  the  seven  sealed  book  taken 
by  the  Lord  Jesus  from  the  hand  of  the  throne-sitter. 

It  is  the  ''  evidence  of  purchase 

It  is  the  ''hook  of  the  purchase. 

Listen  again  to  the  song  in  heaven: 

"  Thou  art  worthy  to  take  the  book,  and  open  the  seals 
thereof:  for  thou  wast  slain,  and  hast  redeemed  us  to 
God  by  thy  blood."    Revelation  5  :  9. 

"  Redeemed !  "  that  signifies  a  redemption  by  "  pur- 
chase." 

He  could  take  the  book  because  He  was  the  Purchaser. 


INTRODUCTION  OF  THE  KINGDOM      169 

The  book  was  the  evidence  of  His  purchase,  the  book 
of  His  purchase. 

As  the  Heaven  singers  announce  that  He  has  pur- 
chased them  by  His  blood;  that  He  has  made  them  a 
"  kingdom,  priests,"  and  that  they  will  reign  on  the  earth 
as  the  result  of  His  taking  and  opening  the  book,  then, 
evidently,  the  book  being  the  evidence  of  His  purchase,  is 
the  title  deed  to  His  kingdom.  At  this  point  it  is  well  to 
recall  the  parable  of  the  nobleman  who  went  into  a  far 
country  to  receive  a  kingdom  for  himself  and  return. 

He  went  into  that  country  to  receive  from  the  hand  of 
authority,  the  right  and  title  to  a  kingdom  in  dispute. 

He  went  into  that  far  country  to  get  the  title  deed  to 
the  kingdom,  and  thence  to  return  with  it  and  set  up 
the  kingdom  in  his  own  name. 

That  Nobleman  is  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  without  con- 
troversy. 

The  far  country  is  Heaven. 

He  went  thither  after  His  rejection  on  earth  that  He 
might  obtain  the  right  and  title  from  the  Father's  hand 
concerning  His  disputed  kingdom,  and  once  possessed  of 
that  title  to  return  and  set  up  the  kingdom. 

In  this  Heavenly  scene  then  we  behold  the  fulfillment 
of  this  parable.  We  see  the  Lord  Jesus  as  one  who  had 
been  rejected  and  crucified  of  men,  but  whose  blood  of  the 
cross  became  the  crimson  coin  of  the  kingdom's  purchase, 
going  up  the  court  of  Heaven,  and  before  all  witnesses, 
taking  out  of  the  hand  of  power  the  right  and  title  to  the 
kingdom. 

The  breaking  of  the  seals  is  the  solemn  and  judicial 
way  in  which  He  will  announce  His  right  to  rule  and 
reign ;  and  this  breaking  of  the  seals  will  be  the  declara- 
tion that  He  is  about  to  set  up  the  kingdom  long  prom- 


170  THE   COMING    OF   CHRIST 

ised  to  Him,  and  which  He  has  earned  by  the  purchase 
of  His  blood. 

The  opening  of  the  seals  takes  place  in  the  sixth 
chapter. 

This  sixth  chapter  might  be  called  therefore,  "  The 
Breaking  of  the  Seals ;  or,  A  Treatise  on  How  the  King- 
dom is  to  be  Introduced." 

Let  us  read  the  story  of  the  breaking  of  the  seals. 

Our  Lord  opens  the  first  seal  and  we  read : 

"  And  I  saw,  and  behold  a  white  horse :  and  he  that 
sat  on  him  had  a  bow ;  and  a  crown  was  given  unto  him : 
and  he  went  forth  conquering,  and  to  conquer." 

A  military  chieftain  ready  to  lead  men  to  battle  and 
death. 

Our  Lord  opens  the  second  seal  and  we  read : 

"  And  there  went  out  another  horse  that  was  red :  and 
power  was  given  to  him  that  sat  thereon  to  take  peace 
from  the  earth,  and  that  they  should  kill  one  another: 
and  there  was  given  unto  him  a  great  sword."  v.  4. 

1.  Peace  taken  from  the  earth. 

2.  Men  engaged  in  killing  one  another. 

3.  The  sword,  not  the  Gospel,  the  arbiter  among  the 
nations. 

He  opens  the  third  seal  and  we  read: 

"  And  I  beheld,  and,  lo,  a  black  horse ;  and  he  that  sat 
on  him  had  a  pair  of  balances  in  his  hand. 

And  I  heard  a  voice  in  the  midst  of  the  four  beasts  say, 
A  measure  of  wheat  for  a  penny,  and  three  measures  of 
barley  for  a  penny ;  and  see  thou  hurt  not  the  oil  and 
the  wine."  vs.  5,  6. 

1.  Carefulness  on  behalf  of  bread-stuffs. 

2.  Carefulness  with  the  wine  and  the  oil. 

3.  Scarceness  of  provisions ;  famine. 


INTRODUCTION  OF  THE  KINGDOM      171 

He  opens  the  fourth  seal  and  we  read: 

"  And  I  looked  and  behold  a  pale  horse ;  and  his  name 
that  sat  on  him  was  Death,  and  Hell  followed  with  him. 
And  power  was  given  unto  them  over  the  fourth  part  of 
the  earth,  to  kill  with  sword,  and  with  hunger,  and  with 
death,  and  with  the  beasts  of  the  earth."  v.  8. 

Ezekiel  14:21  is  an  anticipative  annotation  upon  this 
verse : 

"  For  thus  saith  the  Lord  God,  How  much  more  when 
I  send  my  four  sore  judgments  upon  Jerusalem,  the 
sword,  and  the  famine,  and  the  noisome  heast,  and  the 
pestilence." 

The  fourth  horse  therefore  gives  the  interpretation  of 
this  vision  of  the  horses.    They  are: 

War. 

Famine. 

Pestilence. 

The  scourge  of  the  wild  beast. 

And  these  are  said  to  be  direct  judgments  from  the 
hand  of  the  Lord. 

"  I  send  my  four  sore  judgments." 

It  is  the  Lord  Himself  who,  breaking  these  seals,  sends 
these  judgments  on  the  earth. 

These  judgments  come  with  trampling  hoofs  like  wild, 
fierce  coursers  guided  by  a  master  hand. 

There  is  one  phrase  that  leaps  out  from  the  midst  of  the 
dust  of  these  thundering  steeds  of  judgment: 

" Peace  taken  from  the  earth" 

Here  you  have  a  picture  of  the  Lord  with  the  title  deed 
of  the  kingdom  in  His  hand,  about  to  set  up  His  king- 
dom in  the  earth  and  rule  and  reign  the  thousand  years 
of  peace. 

And  how  does  He  inaugurate  His  kingdom? 


172  THE   COMING   OF   CHRIST 

How  does  He  set  it  up? 

He  does  so  by  sending  war,  famine,  pestilence  and  the 
noisome  beast. 

He  does  so  by  taking  peace  from  the  earth. 

He  opens  the  sixth  seal  and  we  read: 

"  And,  lo,  there  was  a  great  earthquake ;  and  the  sun 
became  black  as  sackcloth  of  hair,  and  the  moon  be- 
came as  blood ; 

And  the  stars  of  heaven  fell  unto  the  earth,  even  as  a 
fig  tree  casteth  her  untimely  figs,  when  she  is  shaken  of 
a  mighty  wind. 

And  the  heaven  departed  as  a  scroll  when  it  is  rolled 
together;  and  every  mountain  and  island  were  moved 
out  of  their  places. 

And  the  kings  of  the  earth,  and  the  great  men,  and  the 
chief  captains,  and  the  mighty  men,  and  every  bondman, 
and  every  freeman,  hid  themselves  in  the  dens  and  in  the 
rocks  of  the  mountains; 

And  said  to  the  mountains  and  rocks,  Fall  on  us,  and 
hide  us  from  the  face  of  him  that  sitteth  on  the  throne, 
and  from  the  wrath  of  the  Lamb ; 

For  the  great  day  of  his  wrath  is  come ;  and  who  shall 
be  able  to  stand  ?  " 

All  nature  is  in  commotion. 

The  populations  of  the  earth  are  in  fear  and  anguish. 

All  cry  out  that  they  may  be  hidden  from  the  face  of 
the  coming  Lamb. 

And  what  is  the  character  of  that  face  which  begins  to 
look  out  from  this  framework  of  shivering  heavens  and 
shattering  earth? 

It  is  the  face  of  a  lamb,  and  as  the  word  signifies,  "a 
little  lamb,"  but  a  lamb's  face  filled  zvith  wrath,  v.  1 6. 

Not  as  that  face  looked  out  from  beneath  its  gory 


INTRODUCTION  OF  THE  KINGDOM      173 

crown  on  a  cross  of  wood,  pale,  pitiful,  all  forgiving,  but 
a  face  filled  with  the  flame  of  indignation ;  indignation 
and  wrath  kindled  through  twenty  centuries  of  long  suf- 
fering and  despised  forbearance. 

And  all  the  crowd  are  crying  out  that  "  His  "  day  is 
come. 

And  not  one  in  all  that  trembling,  fear  tortured  crowd 
has  any  doubt  as  to  the  character  of  that  day. 

They  know  that  it  is  the  day  of  the  kingdom,  the  day 
of  the  thousand  years,  the  day  of  the  oft  described  mil- 
lennium. 

They  have  no  doubt  now  as  to  how  it  will  be  introduced 
and  what  it  will  mean  to  them. 

Listen  to  the  cry  that  rings  round  the  supersensitive 
world  from  almost  palsied  lips : 

"  The  great  day  of  His  wrath  is  come  ;  and  who 
shall  be  able  to  stand  ?  " 

Yes  !    He  is  coming ! 

He  is  coming  to  set  up  His  kingdom. 

Coming  in  wrath  to  establish  it  in  wrath. 

Coming  with  the  leaping  steeds  of  judgment  drawing 
His  chariot  of  fire,  and  thundering  down  the  bursting 
heavens  to  the  quivering  earth,  to  a  world  of  sinners  hid- 
ing in  rocks  and  caves  and  dens  of  the  mountains. 

This  is  the  story  of  the  sixth  chapter. 

This  is  the  judgment  gateway  through  which  a  long 
delayed  King  comes  to  lift  His  sceptre  and  wield  His 
power. 

He  breaks  the  seventh  seal  and  in  the  eighth  chapter 
we  read : 

"  And  I  saw  the  seven  angels  which  stood  before  God ; 
and  to  them  were  given  seven  trumpets."  v.  2. 

These  angels  remain  in  silent  waiting  till  the  Son  of 


174  THE    COMING    OF    CHRIST 

God  under  the  form  of  another  angel  comes  to  the  golden 
altar  of  the  temple  of  heaven,  takes  a  golden  censer  and 
mingles  the  incense  with  the  prayers  of  the  saints  and  of-  . 
fers  it  before  the  throne.  He  is  then  represented  as  tak- 
ing fire  from  the  altar,  filling  the  censer  and  casting  it 
into  the  earth.  This  action  is  followed  by  voices,  and 
thunderings,  and  lightnings,  and  an  earthquake. 

An  examination  of  the  ninth  verse  of  the  sixth  chapter 
will  show  that  the  Lord  is  here  answering  the  prayer  of 
the  martyrs  under  the  fifth  seal,  and  responding  to  the 
cry  of  the  144,000,  of  the  seventh  chapter,  sealed  with 
the  seal  of  the  "  living  God." 

Their  prayer  is  for  vengeance,  vindication  and  judg- 
ment on  their  foes.  He  answers  by  flinging  down  this 
fiery  gage  into  the  midst  of  their  enemies.  The  seven 
angels  then  take  up  their  trumpets  and  sound. 

The  first  angel  sounds. 

Fire  and  blood  mingled  with  hail  fall  on  the  earth. 

The  second  angel  sounds. 

A  part  of  the  sea  is  turned  to  blood,  a  part  of  the  liv- 
ing creatures  in  the  sea  dies  and  a  part  of  the  ships 
therein  is  destroyed. 

The  third  angel  sounds. 

A  part  of  rivers  and  fountains  of  waters  is  turned  to 
wormwood. 

The  fourth  angel  sounds. 

A  part  of  the  sun,  moon  and  stars  is  filled  with  dark- 
ness. 

The  ninth  chapter  is  before  us. 

The  fifth  angel  sounds. 

The  invisible  world  is  opened. 

Hordes  of  lost  spirits  come  forth  to  possess  and  tor- 
ment rnei;. 


INTRODUCTION  OF  THE  KINGDOM     175 

The  sixth  angel  sounds. 

A  still  mightier  army  of  lost  spirits  is  now  revealed 
incarnate  in  men,  sending  these  forth  to  slay  and  kill. 

Up  to  this  moment  the  sounding  of  the  trumpets  teaches 
us  that : 

I.  Previous  to  the  coming  of  the  Lord  there  will  be 
terrible  judgments  on  the  earth;  these  judgments  will  be 
sent  from  the  hand  of  the  Lord  upon  the  wickedness  of 
the  world ;  and  as  of  old  the  plagues  hardened  the  heart 
of  Pharaoh,  so  now  it  is  written: 

"  And  the  rest  of  the  men  which  were  not  killed  by  these 
plagues,  yet  repented  not  of  the  works  of  their  hands." 
Revelation  9 :  20. 

We  turn  to  Revelation  14. 

The  Son  of  man  is  seen  coming  in  the  shekinal  glory. 

The  harvest  of  the  earth  is  reaped. 

The  great  vine  of  the  earth  is  cast  into  the  wine  press, 
and  that  wine  press  is  called: 

The  winepress  of  the  wrath  of  God."  v.  19. 
And  the  winepress  was  trodden  without  the  city,  and 
blood  came  out  of  the  winepress,  even  unto  the  horse 
bridles,  by  the  space  of  a  thousand  and  six  hundred  fur- 
longs." v.  20. 

The  annotation  of  this  verse  was  written  nearly  a  thou- 
sand years  before.    It  is  found  in  Isaiah  63 :  3,  4. 

"  I  have  trodden  the  winepress  alone ;  and  of  the  people 
there  was  none  with  me;  for  I  will  tread  them  in  mine 
anger,  and  trample  them  in  my  fury,  and  their  blood 
shall  be  sprinkled  upon  my  garments,  and  I  will  stain  all 
my  raiment.  For  the  day  of  vengeance  is  in  my  heart,  and 
the  year  of  my  redeemed  is  come." 

The  winepress  is  not  the  cross  of  Christ. 

Far  from  it ! 


(S 

(( 


176  THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST 

The  Lord  is  represented  coming  "glorious  in  his  ap- 
parel," traveling,  not  in  weakness,  but  in  the  "  greatness 
of  his  strength." 

His  people  Israel  are  not  there  to  welcome  Him. 

He  turns  upon  the  nations  and  tramples  them  till  their 
blood  like  the  blood  of  the  crushed  grape  stains  all  His 
garments  and  dyes  them  red. 

It  is  a  terrific  figure. 

It  is  His  own  utterance. 

"  The  day  of  vengeance  is  in  my  heart." 

The  day  of  vengeance  was  not  in  His  heart  when  He 
hung  upon  the  cross. 

Oh,  no ! 

On  the  cross  He  said :  "  Father,  forgive  them ;  for  they 
know  not  what  they  do."  Luke  23 :  34. 

No !  this  is  not  the  crucified,  hanging  in  helplessness 
on  a  Roman  cross ;  this  is  the  King  bearing  the  marks  of 
that  cross,  each  nail  wound  gleaming  like  a  fiery  accusa- 
tion against  His  foes.  This  is  the  King  coming  to  exe- 
cute vengeance  and  set  up  His  undisputed  reign. 

This  is  the  King  coming  to  inaugurate,  to  introduce 
His  kingdom  through  the  crimson  of  a  merciless,  but 
perfectly  just  judgment. 

The  fifteenth  chapter  opens  with  the  amazing  words : 

"  And  I  saw  another  sign  in  heaven,  great  and  mar- 
velous, seven  angels  having  the  seven  last  plagues ;  for  in 
them  is  filled  up  the  wrath  of  God."    Revelation  15 :  i. 

Seven  vials  full  of  the  wrath  of  God  were  given  to 
these  angels,  and  in  the  sixteenth  chapter  we  behold  them 
pouring  the  contents  on  the  startled  earth. 

The  first  vial  is  poured  out. 

A  great  sore  falls  on  the  men  who  have  accepted  the 
Devil's  Man. 


INTRODUCTION  OF  THE  KINGDOM      177 

The  second  vial  is  poured  out. 

The  sea  becomes  blood,  as  of  a  dead  man. 

The  third  vial  is  poured  out. 

Rivers  and  fountains  are  turned  to  blood. 

The  fourth  vial  is  poured  out  on  the  sun. 

The  heat  becomes  so  great  that  men  are  scorched  and 
because  of  their  torment  lift  up  their  voices  in  blasphemy 
against  God. 

The  fifth  vial  is  poured  out  on  the  throne  of  the  Devil's 
Man,  the  Beast,  and  his  kingdom  is  filled  with  darkness. 

The  sixth  vial  is  poured  out. 

Three  unclean  spirits  go  forth  to  incite  the  whole  world 
to  war. 

The  seventh  vial  is  poured  out  into  the  air. 

There  are  lightnings,  thunderings  and  earthquakes  such 
as  the  world  has  never  before  seen  or  heard. 

Hail  falls  on  men  like  great  stones,  as  if  the  Heaven  of 
God  and  all  the  holy  inhabitants  thereof  were  seeking  to 
stone  to  death  the  wickedness  of  man. 

Now !  no  matter  what  the  vials  symbolize,  whether  the 
plagues  be  actual  or  figurative,  we  have  here  a  declaration 
that  previous  to  the  setting  up  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ, 
the  Lord  will  pour  forth  His  terrible  and  sore  judgments ; 
that  vial  after  vial  of  the  wrath  of  God,  in  some  form,  will 
break  upon  the  devoted  earth. 

And  now  we  turn  to  the  last  picture. 

It  is  the  divine  description  of  the  Coming  of  the  Lord. 

"  And  I  saw  heaven  opened,  and  behold,  a  white  horse ; 
and  he  that  sat  upon  him  was  called  Faithful  and  True, 
and  in  righteousness  he  doth  judge  and  make  war. 

His  eyes  were  as  a  flame  of  fire,  and  on  his  head  were 
many  crowns;  and  he  had  a  name  written,  that  no  man 
knew  but  he  himself. 


178  THE   COMING    OF   CHRIST 

And  he  was  clothed  with  a  vesture  dipped  in  blood ;  and 
his  name  is  called  the  Word  of  God. 

And  the  armies  which  were  in  heaven  followed  him 
upon  white  horses,  clothed  in  fine  linen,  white  and 
clean. 

And  out  of  his  mouth  goeth  a  sharp  sword,  that  with  it 
he  should  smite  the  nations ;  and  he  shall  rule  them  with 
a  rod  of  iron:  and  he  treadeth  the  winepress  of  the 
fierceness  and  wrath  of  Almighty  God. 

And  he  hath  on  his  vesture  and  on  his  thigh  a  name 
written.  King  of  kings,  and  Lord  of  lords.''  Revelation 
19:  11-16. 

What  a  description  is  this! 

Let  us  analyze  it. 

1.  He  comes  as  a  Judge. 

2.  He  comes  to  make  war. 

3.  His  eyes  burn  like  a  Uarne  of  fire,  the  fire  of  anger. 

4.  His  clothes  are  stained  with  blood,  not  His  own 
blood,  but  the  blood  of  others. 

5.  He  is  followed  by  armies. 

6.  A  sword  goes  out  of  His  mouth. 

7.  He  comes  to  smite  the  nations. 

8.  He  will  rule  with  a  rod  of  iron. 

9.  He  treads  the  winepress  of  the  fierceness  and  wrath 
of  God. 

And  this  treading  the  winepress  is  treading  the  people. 

Listen : 

"  I  will  tread  down  the  people  in  my  anger,  and  make 
them  drunk  in  my  fury.  ...  I  will  tread  them  in  my 
anger,  and  trample  them  in  my  fury ;  and  their  blood  shall 
be  sprinkled  upon  my  garments,  and  I  will  stain  all  my 
raiment."  Isaiah  63  :  6,  3. 

What  condition  must  obtain  in  a  world  that  shall  pro- 


INTRODUCTION  OF  THE  KINGDOM      lyc) 

voke,  and  inspire  such  an  unparalleled  exhibition  of  wrath, 
anger  and  fierce  judgment. 

What  more  terrific  language  could  be  used  to  demon- 
strate that  the  Coming  of  the  Lord  is  a  coming  in  wrath 
and  hot  anger? 

If  the  Spirit  desired  to  demonstrate  that  the  kingdom 
is  to  be  introduced  in  the  wrath  of  an  indignant,  outraged 
King,  what  other  language  could  He  have  used  that  would 
more  forcefully  have  proved  it? 

And  now  what  actually  follows  this  wrathful  Coming? 

The  closing  verses  of  this  chapter  show  us ;  the  opening 
verses  of  the  next,  the  twentieth  chapter,  convince  us. 

"  And  the  beast  was  taken,  and  with  him  the  false 
prophet  that  wrought  miracles  before  him  .  .  .  These 
were  both  cast  alive  into  a  lake  of  fire  burning  with 
brimstone."    Revelation  19 :  20. 

"  And  I  saw  an  angel  come  down  from  heaven,  having 
the  key  of  the  bottomless  pit  and  a  great  chain  in  his 
hand. 

And  he  laid  hold  on  the  dragon,  that  old  serpent,  which 
is  the  Devil,  and  Satan,  and  bound  him  a  thousand 
years."    Revelation  20:  i,  2. 

1.  Antichrist  and  the  false  prophet  are  overthrown. 

2.  Satan  is  bound  for  a  thousand  years. 

3.  The  thousand  years  begin. 
There  is  the  result! 

The  thousand  years,  the  long  looked  for  millen- 
nium. 

How  is  this  result  obtained?  ' 

By  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  ? 

No! 

It  is  attained  by  the  Coming  of  the  Lord, 

And  how  does  He  come? 


i8o  THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST 

Peacefully,  spiritually,  as  the  result  of  the  Spirit  work- 
ing in  the  heart  and  conscience  of  men? 
■    Nay! 

He  comes  personally,  visibly,  in  wrath,  anger, 

AND  fierce  judgment. 

This  description  of  the  Coming  given  by  the  Spirit  of 
God  is  therefore  a  demonstration  that, 

The  kingdom  is  introduced  by  judgments  at  the 
Coming  of  the  Lord. 

We  have  thus  listened  to  the  testimony  of  our  Lord  and 
His  apostles. 

There  is  but  one  utterance  from  first  to  last. 

The  kingdom,  the  millennium  is  to  be  introduced  by  the 
personal  Coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  with  associated 
and  terrific  judgments  on  the  earth.  So  far  then  from  an- 
ticipating the  cloudless  skies  of  peace  through  which  we 
may  insensibly  enter  into  the  glad  millennial  days,  we 
may  expect  the  skies  to  darken  and  lower,  growing  blacker 
and  blacker  along  the  heavy  horizon,  and  the  mutter- 
ings  of  the  divine  wrath  to  be  heard  from  time  to  time, 
increasing  in  tone  and  volume,  in  shorter  and  shorter  in- 
tervals till  there  seems  to  be  one  continuous,  terroi  in- 
spiring peal. 

As  the  age  draws  to  its  close,  it  will  be  like  a  ship  in  the 
night,  now  and  then  hearing  the  rise  of  a  low,  sullen  roar 
till  at  last,  through  the  night  and  the  deepening  gloom, 
a  white  line  is  seen,  and  the  cry  rings  out  on  the  startled 
ears :  "  The  Breakers  !    The  Breakers !  " 

This  is  the  end  towards  which  human  society,  with  all 
its  boasted  art,  science  and  culture  is  steadily  drifting. 

The  low,  sullen  roar  of  the  surf  may  be  heard  by  those 
who  will  take  the  pains  to  listen. 

The  tramp  of  armed  men,  the  voices  of  the  mob,  the 


INTRODUCTION  OF  THE  KINGDOM      i8i 

blows,  steady  and  hard  upon  the  foundations  of  the  right- 
eous, the  increasing  discontent  of  the  masses,  the  wild  and 
desperate  efforts  to  cure  the  ills  of  inequality  and  poverty, 
the  angry  spirit  of  the  discontented  and  the  idle,  the  luke- 
warmness  of  the  church,  the  open  and  unrebuked  infi- 
delity in  its  pulpits,  in  the  world  the  spirit  of  lawlessness 
and  wild  beast  ferocity  that  every  now  and  then  thrusts 
its  monstrous  visage  into  the  face  of  men,  the  steady  in- 
crease of  crime,  the  faithlessness  in  places  of  public  and 
private  trust,  the  breaking  down  of  standards,  the  lack 
of  definite  convictions  and  the  wild  rush  for  material 
gains  and  material  pleasures,  the  accentuated  denials  by 
representative  men,  not  only  of  the' divinity  of  Christ,  but 
of  the  personal  existence  of  God,  and  the  swift  readiness 
to  listen  to  any  voice  that  can  demonstrate  this  denial  as 
reasonable,  all  these  things  bid  us  know,  if  we  have  an 
ear  to  hear,  that  the  white  line  is  rising,  that  the  surf  is 
just  beyond  us,  and  that  a  long  suffering  God  will  let  loose 
upon  the  earth  the  scourge  that  shall  tell  it  that  He  is  the 
Master;  and  because  He  has  been  rejected  in  grace  will 
come  to  rule  with  "  a  rod  of  iron  and  dash  in  pieces  like 
a  potter's  vessel."    Psalm  2 :  9. 


THE  INTRODUCTION  OF  THE 

KINGDOM 

(The  Testimony  of  the  Prophets) 


"WHEN  THY  JUDGMENTS  ARE  IN  THE  EARTH, 
THE  INHABITANTS  OF  THE  WORLD  WILL  LEARN 
RIGHTEOUSNESS."— Isaiah  26:9. 

"FOR  MY  DETERMINATION  IS  TO  GATHER  THE 
NATIONS  *  *  *  TO  POUR  UPON  THEM  *  *  *  ALL  MY 
FIERCE  ANGER:  FOR  ALL  THE  EARTH  SHALL  BE 
DEVOURED  WITH  THE  FIRE  OF  MY  JEALOUSY  *  *  * 
THEN  WILL  I  TURN  TO  THE  PEOPLE  A  PURE  LAN- 
GUAGE, THAT  THEY  MAY  ALL  CALL  UPON  THE 
NAME  OF  THE  LORD,  TO  SERVE  HIM  WITH  ONE 
CONSENT."— Zephaniah  3:8-9. 


CHAPTER    XIV 

C6e  3fntroDuctiott  of  tfie  KingDom 

{The  Testimony  of  the  Prophets.) 

The  Old  Testament  is  full  of  lengthened  descriptions 
of  the  kingdom.  The  prophet  Isaiah  draws  a  picture  of 
the  coming  glory. 

"And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  the  last  days,  that  the 
mountain  of  the  Lord's  house  shall  be  established  in  the 
top  of  the  mountains,  and  shall  be  exalted  above  the  hills : 
and  all  nations  shall  flow  unto  it. 

And  many  people  shall  go  and  say,  Come  ye,  and  let  us 
go  up  to  the  mountain  of  the  Lord,  to  the  house  of  the 
God  of  Jacob :  and  he  will  teach  us  of  his  ways,  and  we 
will  walk  in  his  paths :  for  out  of  Zion  shall  go  forth  the 
law,  and  the  word  of  the  Lord  from  Jerusalem. 

And  he  shall  judge  among  the  nations,  and  shall  re- 
buke man^  people ;  and  they  shall  beat  their  swords  into 
ploughshares,  and  their  spears  into  pruning  hooks:  na- 
tion shall  not  lift  up  sword  against  nation,  neither  shall 
they  learn  war  any  more."  Isaiah  2 : 1-4. 

How  is  this  glorious  time  to  be  introduced? 

The  answer  is  clear  enough : 

"  Zion  shall  be  redeemed  with  judgment,  ...  and  the 
destruction  of  the  transgressors  and  of  the  sinners" 
Isaiah  i :  27-31. 

Again : 

"  For  the  day  of  the  Lord  of  hosts  shall  be  upon  every 
one  that  is  proud  and  lofty,  and  upon  every  one  that  is 
lifted  up,  and  he  shall  be  brought  low.  .  .  .  And  they 

185 


i86  THE   COMING    OF   CHRIST 

shall  go  into  the  holes  of  the  rocks,  and  into  the  caves  of 
the  earth,  for  fear  of  the  Lord,  and  for  the  glory  of  his 
majesty,  when  he  ariseth  to  shake  terribly  the  earth." 
Isaiah  2 :  12-22. 

How  forcibly  this  recalls  the  picture  given  in  Revela- 
tion 6:15-17.  "  And  the  kings  of  the  earth,  and  the  great 
men,  and  the  rich  men,  and  every  bondman,  and  every 
freeman,  hid  themselves  in  the  dens  and  in  the  rocks  of 
the  mountains ;  and  said  to  the  mountains  and  rocks.  Fall 
on  us,  and  hide  us  from  the  face  of  him  that  sitteth  on  the 
throne,  and  from  the  wrath  of  the  Lamb:  for  the  great 
day  of  his  wrath  is  come;  and  who  shall  be  able  to 
stand?" 

The  testimony  of  the  Apostle  Paul  is  in  full  accord  with 
Isaiah : 

"  He  hath  promised,  saying.  Yet  once  more  I  shake  not 
the  earth  only,  but  also  heaven  .  .  .  for  our  God  is  a 
consuming  fire."    Hebrews  12 :  25-27. 

The  glad  time  is  to  come.  Jerusalem  is  to  be  the  center 
of  God's  dealings  in  the  earth,  the  source  of  His  mani- 
festation. His  rule  shall  be  known  and  accepted  among 
all  nations ;  the  kingdom  shall  be  one  of  peace ;  war  will 
be  a  trade  forgotten,  it  shall  be  learned  no  more;  the 
light  of  the  Lord  shall  fill  the  earth;  Zion,  so  long  in 
bonds,  shall  be  redeemed  and  all  her  converts  shall  dwell 
in  righteousness.  But  before  that  blessed  hour  can  come 
with  its  perfect  peace,  the  heavens  will  tremble,  the  earth 
will  shake,  the  Lord  will  arise  and  show  such  a  face  of 
wrath  and  judgment  that  multitudes  shall  flee  and  hide 
from  the  lightning  of  its  glance. 

He  will  come  and  Mount  Zion  shall  be  delivered,  but  it 
will  be  a  deliverance  in  which  sinners  shall  burn  as  stub- 
ble and  the  wicked  as  a  furnace  of  fire,  while  the  thun- 


INTRODUCTION  OF  THE  KINGDOM     187 

ders  of  judgment  shall  echo  round  the  earth  telling  that 
the  King  is  come. 

In  Isaiah  4 :  2,  3,  we  read : 

"  In  that  day  shall  the  branch  of  the  Lord  be  beautiful 
and  glorious,  and  the  fruit  of  the  earth  shall  be  excellent 
and  comely  for  them  that  are  escaped  of  Israel. 

And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  he  that  is  left  in  Zion, 
and  he  that  remaineth  in  Jerusalem  shall  be  called  holy. 

And  the  Lord  will  create  upon  every  dwelling  place  of 
Mount  Zion,  and  upon  her  assemblies,  a  cloud  and  smoke 
by  day,  and  the  shining  of  a  flaming  fire  by  night." 
Isaiah  4:2,  3,  5. 

This  is  a  special  promise  to  Israel. 

It  is  a  declaration  that  the  glory  which  once  shone 
within  the  vail  and  rested  upon  the  temple,  shall  return 
to  the  earth,  and  that  the  glory  of  the  Lord  shall  fill  Jeru- 
salem. 

But  when  shall  this  happy  condition  come? 

The  answer  is  in  verse  4. 

"  When  the  Lord  shall  have  washed  away  the  filth  of 
the  daughters  of  Zion,  and  shall  have  purged  the  blood  of 
Jerusalem  from  the  midst  thereof,  by  the  spirit  of  judg- 
ment, and  by  the  spirit  of  burning/^ 

In  the  parables  of  Matthew  thirteenth  our  Lord  de- 
clares that  the  age  ends  with  flames  leaping  from  a  fiery 
furnace,  and  the  burning  and  consuming  of  the  dross 
therein ;  and  then,  after  that.  He  says,  the  righteous  shall 
shine  forth  in  the  kingdom  of  the  Father. 

All  Scripture  is  one. 

Nearly  eight  centuries  in  advance  Isaiah  declares  that 
the  kingdom  and  glory  shall  shine  on  the  earth ;  but  it  will 
shine  in  beauty  only  after  the  judgment  and  the  burn- 
ing. 


i88  THE   COMING   OF   CHRIST 

A  wondrous  vision  of  the  millennial  day  is  given  in 
Isaiah  1 1 : 6-9. 

"  The  wolf  also  shall  dwell  with  the  lamb,  and  the  leop- 
ard shall  lie  down  with  the  kid;  and  the  calf  and  the 
young  lion,  and  the  fatling  together;  and  a  little  child 
shall  lead  them. 

"  And  the  cow  and  the  bear  shall  feed ;  their  young  ones 
shall  lie  down  together;  and  the  lion  shall  eat  straw  like 
the  ox. 

"  And  the  sucking  child  shall  play  on  the  hole  of  the 
asp,  and  the  weaned  child  shall  put  his  hand  on  the  cock- 
atrice' den. 

"  They  shall  not  hurt  nor  destroy  in  all  my  holy  moun- 
tain ;  for  the  earth  shall  be  full  of  the  knowledge  of  the 
Lord,  as  the  waters  cover  the  sea." 

Nothing  can  be  added  to  this  description ;  it  is  the  day 
of  Heaven  on  earth. 

How  does  it  come  about? 

The  answer  may  be  found  in  verse  4. 

"  He  shall  smite  the  earth  with  the  rod  of  his  mouth, 
and  with  the  breath  of  his  lips  shall  he  slay  the  wicked/' 

Compare  this  passage  with  the  testimony  of  Paul  in  2 
Thessalonians  2:8: 

"  And  then  shall  that  Wicked  be  revealed,  whom  the 
Lord  shall  consume  with  the  Spirit  of  his  mouth,  and 
shall  destroy  with  the  brightness  of  his  coming." 

The  Apostle  and  the  Prophet  refer  to  the  same  event : 
the  Coming  of  the  Lord  Jesus  to  overthrow  the  Antichrist 
and  to  set  up  the  kingdom. 

Thus  the  Apostle  and  the  Prophet  are  not  only  agreed 
that  the  Antichrist  fills  in  the  gateway  to  the  kingdom, 
that  he  will  be  found  on  the  threshold,  but  that  the  Lord 
is  coming  in  judgment  to  overthrow  Antichrist,  clear 


INTRODUCTION  OF  THE  KINGDOM      189 

out  the  gateway  and  open  the  kingdom  to  the  right- 
eous. 

In  the  fourteenth  chapter  we  have  the  promise  of  a 
restoration  of  Israel  to  their  own  land,  the  setting  up  of 
the  kingdom  promised  to  the  fathers,  and  the  assurance 
of  rest  and  peace. 

The  manner  in  which  this  day  of  deliverance  and  rest 
for  Israel  is  to  be  brought  about  is  described  in  the  thir- 
teenth chapter. 

"  The  noise  of  a  multitude  in  the  mountains,  like  as  of  a 
great  people ;  a  tumultuous  noise  of  the  kingdoms  of  na- 
tions gathered  together :  the  Lord  of  hosts  muster eth  the 
host  of  the  battle."    Isaiah  13:4. 

There  is  certainly  nothing  here  to  indicate  a  quiet  or 
peaceful  preface  to  the  kingdom : 

"  They  come  from  a  far  country,  from  the  end  of 
heaven,  even  the  Lord,  and  the  weapons  of  his  indigna- 
tion, to  destroy  the  whole  land :  Howl  ye ;  for  the  day  of 
the  Lord  is  at  hand;  it  shall  come  as  a  destruction  from 
the  Almighty." 

"  Behold,  the  day  of  the  Lord  cometh,  cruel  both  with 
wrath  and  fierce  anger,  to  lay  the  land  desolate;  and  he 
shall  destroy  the  sinners  out  of  it  .  .  .  And  I  will  punish 
the  world."  Isaiah  13 :  5,  6,  9,  11. 

In  the  fourteenth  chapter  a  portrait  is  given  of  Anti- 
christ which  accords  exactly  with  that  given  by  Saint 
Paul.  His  downfall  is  celebrated  and  is  seen  to  be  coin- 
cident with  the  exaltation  of  Israel. 

Antichrist  is  the  king  of  Babylon,  and  Babylon  and 
Jerusalem  are  always  at  opposites ;  when  the  one  is  up  the 
other  is  down.  Babylon  is  down  here  and  Jerusalem  is 
up.  The  overthrow  of  Babylon  has  been  due  to  the  de- 
struction of  its  king,  the  Antichrist;  and  as  he  is  over- 


190  THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST 

thrown  by  the  personal  Coming  of  the  Christ,  the  king- 
dom of  Israel  is  thus  introduced  by  judgment  at  the 
Coming  of  the  Lord. 

Read  Isaiah  14:4,  and  compare  verses  12-15,  ^5^  ^6, 
with  2  Thessalonians  2  :  4-9. 

"  He  will  swallow  up  death  in  victory ;  and  the  Lord 
God  will  wipe  away  tears  -from  off  all  faces ;  and  the 
rebuke  of  his  people  shall  he  take  away  from  off  all  the 
earth :  for  the  Lord  hath  spoken  it. 

"  And  it  shall  be  said  in  that  day,  Lo,  this  is  our  God ; 
we  have  waited  for  him,  and  he  will  save  us :  this 
is  the  Lord ;  we  have  waited  for  him,  we  will  be  glad  and 
rejoice  in  his  salvation."    Isaiah  25 :  8,  9. 

The  Apostle  Paul  quotes  this  passage  in  i  Corinthians 

15 '-  54. 

It  is  the  hour  of  the  triumph  of  Christ  and  those  who 

are  His. 

And  how  this  triumphal  hour  is  brought  about  is  told 
in  terrible  and  unmistakable  language  in  the  twenty- 
fourth  chapter. 

Read  it  at  random ! 

Take  a  verse  anywhere! 

"  Behold,  the  Lord  maketh  the  earth  empty ;  and 
maketh  it  waste,  and  turneth  it  upside  down,  and  scat- 
tereth  abroad  the  inhabitants  thereof."    Verse  i. 

"  The  earth  is  utterly  broken  down,  the  earth  is  clean 
dissolved,  the  earth  is  moved  exceedingly. 

"  The  earth  shall  reel  to  and  fro  like  a  drunkard,  and 
shall  be  removed  like  a  cottage. 

"  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  that  day,  that  the  Lord 
shall  punish  the  host  of  the  high  ones  that  are  on  high, 
and  the  kings  of  the  earth  upon  the  earth.  Then  the  moon 
shall  be  confounded  and  the  sun  ashamed,  when  the  Lord 


INTRODUCTION  OF  THE  KINGDOM      191 

of  hosts  shall  reign  in  Mount  Zion,  and  in  Jerusalem,  and 
before  his  ancients,  gloriously."    Verses  19,  20,  21,  23. 

The  condition  which  precedes  the  kingdom  is  one  of 
confusion,  trouble  and  sin ;  the  Lord  is  seen  coming  forth 
to  punish,  to  overthrow,  and  then  to  establish  the  king- 
dom. 

The  verification  of  this  may  be  had  by  reading  the 
Apostle's  statement  in  i  Corinthians  15:54. 

He  quotes  the  passage — death  shall  be  swallowed  up 
in  victory — and  says : 

''  Then  shall  be  brought  to  pass  the  saying  that  is 
written,  Death  is  swallowed  up  in  victory." 

When  shall  it  be  brought  to  pass?    • 

The  Apostle  says  at  the  sound  of  the  trump. 

That  trump  sounds,  according  to  the  same  Apostle  in 
I  Thessalonians  4:  16,  at  the  Coming  of  the  Lord. 

"  For  the  Lord  himself  shall  descend  from  heaven  with 
a  shout,  with  the  voice  of  the  archangel,  and  with  the 
trump  of  God :  and  the  dead  in  Christ  shall  rise  first." 

It  is  at  the  sounding  of  the  trump,  says  the  Apostle, 
that  the  triumph  over  death  takes  place ;  and  it  is  at  the 
moment  when  death  is  swallowed  up  in  victory,  says 
Isaiah,  that  the  kingdom  is  set  up. 

Thus  the  prophet  and  the  Apostle  both  agree  that  the 
kingdom  is  introduced  by  the  personal  Coming  of  the 
Lord ;  and  the  prophet  declares  that  this  personal  Coming 
will  be  in  judgment  on  the  sinners  in  the  land. 

In  the  twenty-sixth  chapter  we  read: 

"  In  that  day !  " 

What  day  ? 

The  day  when  death  has  been  swallowed  up  in  victory, 
in  the  day  of  the  kingdom ! 

"  In  that  day  shall  this  song  be  sung  in  the  land  of 


192  THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST 

Judah :  We  have  a  strong  city ;  salvation  will  God  appoint 
for  walls  and  bulwarks! 

"  Open  ye  the  gates,  that  the  righteous  nation  which 
keepeth  the  truth  may  enter  in."    Isaiah  26:  i,  2. 

Israel  as  the  righteous  nation  is  here  seen  dwelling  in 
peace  and  safety,  keeping  the  truth  and  giving  praise  to 
the  Lord  in  the  land  of  Judah. 

And  now  note  well  how  this  saving  condition  is  intro- 
duced. 

How  does  this  nation  learn  to  become  righteous  ? 

The  answer  is  at  hand : 

"  When  thy  judgments  are  in  the  earth,  the  in- 
habitants OF  THE  WORLD  WILL  LEARN  RIGHTEOUSNESS." 

Verse  9. 

The  Lord's  judgments  have  been  brought  upon  the 
earth;  the  Lord's  reign  in  judgment  has  begun;  it  is  a 
reign,  a  continuous  day  of  judgment.  It  is  by  this  reign 
and  rule  of  judgment  that  the  nations  of  the  earth  are  to 
become  righteous.  Judgments,  not  the  quiet  expansion 
of  the  Gospel ;  judgments,  not  the  dealings  in  grace.  It 
is  by  judgment  that  this  prophetic  picture  of  the  earth 
filled  with  righteousness  is  to  be  brought  about;  judg- 
ments at  the  Coming  of  the  Lord,  and  judgment  during 
His  rule  on  the  earth. 

Over  against  the  declaration  that  the  kingdom  of  Christ 
is  to  be  introduced  by  the  Millennium  brought  about  by 
the  Gospel  of  the  grace  of  God;  over  this  statement  of 
modern  theology  and  the  teaching  of  all  our  theological 
seminaries,  place  this  statement  of  the  inspired  prophet : 

"  When  thy  judgments  are  in  the  earth,  the  in- 
habitants OF  THE  WORLD  WILL  LEARN  RIGHTEOUSNESS." 

Read  now  Isaiah  2y :  6. 
He  shall  cause  them  that  come  of  Jacob  to  take  root : 


a 


INTRODUCTION  OF  THE  KINGDOM      193 

Israel  shall  blossom  and  bud,  and  fill  the  face  of  the 
world  with  fruit." 

Israel  is  represented  as  returned,  rooted  in  the  land  of 
promise  and  becoming  the  source  of  nourishment  and 
life  to  the  world. 

You  have  here  the  heart  of  the  Millennium  on  its 
earthly  and  time  side. 

How  is  this  blessedness  in  Israel  achieved  ? 

Mark  well  the  answer. 

"  For,  behold,  the  Lord  cometh  out  of  his  place  to 
punish  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  for  their  iniquity." 
Isaiah  26:  21. 

It  is  by  the  personal  Coming  of  the  Lord  in  judgment. 

Let  us  read  Isaiah  32 : 

"  Behold,  a  king  shall  reign  in  righteousness,  and 
princes  shall  rule  in  judgment. 

"  And  a  man  shall  be  an  hiding  place  from  the  wind 
.  .  .  the  shadow  of  a  great  rock  in  a  weary  land  .  .  . 
and  my  people  shall  dwell  in  a  peaceful  habitation,  and 
in  sure  dwellings,  and  in  quiet  resting  places."  Verses 
1-3,  18. 

The  introduction  to  this  supreme  state  of  quietness  and 
rest  is  described  in  Isaiah  30 :  30-33. 

"And  the  Lord  shall  cause  his  glorious  voice  to  be 
heard,  and  shall  show  the  lighting  down  of  his  arm,  with 
the  indignation  of  his  anger,  and  with  the  flame  of  a 
devouring  fire,  with  scattering,  and  tempest,  and  hail- 
stones. For  through  the  voice  shall  the  Assyrian  be 
beaten  down,  which  smote  with  a  rod." 

The  Assyrian  is  the  one  also  called  the  King  of  Babylon 
by  Isaiah,  the  Man  of  Sin  by  Saint  Paul  and  the  Antichrist 
by  Saint  John. 

Thus  we  again  have  a  picture  of  the  Antichrist  barring 


194  THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST 

the  way  to  the  kingdom,  and  the  Coming  of  the  Son  of 
God  to  overthrow  him. 

Read  now  Isaiah  31 :  4-8. 

"  For  thus  hath  the  Lord  spoken  unto  me,  Like  as  the 
lion  and  the  young  lion  roaring  on  his  prey,  when  a 
multitude  of  shepherds  is  called  forth  against  him  he  will 
not  be  afraid  of  their  voice,  nor  abase  himself  for  the 
noise  of  them :  so  shall  the  Lord  of  hosts  come  down  to 
fight  for  mount  Zion,  and  for  the  hill  thereof. 

"  As  birds  flying,  so  will  the  Lord  of  hosts  defend 
Jerusalem :  defending  also  he  will  deliver  it,  and  passing 
over  he  will  preserve  it. 

"  Then  shall  the  Assyrian  fall  with  the  sword,  not  of  a 
mighty  man;  and  the  sword,  not  of  a  mean  man,  shall 
devour  him  .  .  .  saith  the  Lord,  whose  fire  is  in  Zion, 
and  his  furnace  in  Jerusalem/' 

The  Lord  is  coming  down  to  fight  for  Mount  Zion.  He 
will  throw  open  the  furnace  of  judgment. 

It  is  after  this  picture  of  the  overthrow  of  the  Assyrian, 
the  Antichrist,  and  the  upblazing  of  the  furnace  flames 
of  judgment  that  it  is  said  in  the  next  chapter:  "My 
people  shall  dwell  in  a  peaceful  habitation." 

Isaiah  35  presents  us  with  a  description  of  the  Millen- 
nial kingdom  that  transcends  in  beauty  anything  yet  given. 

"  The  desert  shall  rejoice  and  blossom  as  the  rose  .  .  . 
then  shall  the  lame  man  leap  as  an  hart,  and  the  tongue 
of  the  dumb  shall  sing ;  for  in  the  wilderness  shall  waters 
break  out,  and  streams  in  the  desert  .  .  .  and  an 
highway  shall  be  there,  and  a  way,  and  it  shall  be  called 
The  way  of  holiness  ...  no  lion  shall  be  there,  nor 
any  ravenous  beast  shall  go  up  thereon,  it  shall  not  be 
found  there :  but  the  redeemed  shall  walk  there." 

Turn  back  to  Isaiah  34 : 1-4,  and  behold  the  prelude  of 


INTRODUCTION  OF  THE  KINGDOM      195 

this  glorious  time.  The  Lord  invites  all  the  earth  to 
hear,  the  world  and  all  that  is  therein.  He  then  declares 
that  His  indignation  is  upon  the  nations  and  upon  all 
their  armies ;  declares  that  the  earth  shall  be  filled  with 
the  slain ;  that  the  hosts  of  heaven  shall  be  dissolved ; 
that  the  heavens  shall  be  rolled  together  like  a  scroll ;  the 
Lord  has  a  sword  in  His  hand  and  declares  it  shall  fall  in 
judgment ;  then  in  verses  8,  9,  it  is  written : 

"  For  it  is  the  day  of  the  Lord's  vengeance,  and  the  year 
of  recompenses  for  the  controversy  of  Zion. 

"  And  the  streams  thereof  shall  be  turned  into  pitch, 
and  the  dust  thereof  into  brimstone,  and  the  land  thereof 
shall  become  burning  pitch." 

In  Isaiah  42 :  10-12,  we  have  a  promise  of  millennial 
blessing;  but  verse  13  shows  that  it  is  to  be  brought  in  by 
the  Coming  of  the  Lord  in  personal  judgment : 

"  The  Lord  shall  go  forth  as  a  mighty  man,  he  shall 
stir  up  jealousy  like  a  man  of  war :  he  shall  cry,  yea,  roar ; 
he  shall  prevail  against  his  enemies." 

And  in  verse  14: 

"  I  will  destroy  and  devour  at  once." 

The  same  old  refrain,  a  coming  Lord,  gathered  ene- 
mies, the  thunderbolt  of  judgment  and  the  blessing  on 
the  earth. 

Isaiah  51:3,  another  promise : 

"  For  the  Lord  shall  comfort  Zion :  he  will  comfort  all 
her  waste  places,  and  he  will  make  her  wilderness  like 
Eden,  and  her  desert  like  the  garden  of  the  Lord ;  joy  and 
gladness  shall  be  found  therein,  thanksgiving,  and  the 
voice  of  melody." 

But  in  verse  6  we  read : 

"  Lift  up  your  eyes  to  the  heavens,  and  look  upon  the 
earth  beneath;  for  the  heavens  shall  vanish  away  like 


196  THE   COMING   OF   CHRIST 

smoke,  and  the  earth  shall  wax  old  like  a  garment,  and 
they  that  dwell  therein  shall  die  in  like  manner." 

Other  scripture  has  shown  that  there  will  be  precisely 
these  phenomena  at  the  Coming  of  the  Lord,  and  we  have 
thus  a  witness  that  the  millennial  blessedness  as  associated 
with  Israel  is  introduced  by  the  Coming  of  the  Lord  in 
the  way  of  judgment  and  the  manifestation  of  His 
righteousness. 

In  the  52d  chapter  we  learn  that  the  Lord  will  comfort 
His  people ;  He  will  redeem  Israel. 

How  will  He  do  this? 

The  answer  is  written  in  verse  10 : 

"  The  Lord  hath  made  bare  his  holy  arm  in  the  eyes  of 
the  nations." 

We  know  from  scripture  after  scripture  that  this  baring 
of  His  holy  arm  means  the  lighting  down  of  His  power 
and  the  splendor  of  His  judgment  Coming. 

The  60th  chapter  is  accepted  without  controversy  as 
descriptive  of  the  millennium. 

In  it  we  learn  that  the  time  for  Zion  to  arise  and  shine, 
has  come.  So  full  of  light  will  Zion  be  that  the  nations 
of  the  earth  will  come  thither  to  walk  in  the  brightness  of 
it.  So  great  the  influx  to  Jerusalem  that  it  will  become 
the  world  center  of  the  mightiest  activities.  The  suprem- 
acy of  Israel  in  the  earth  will  be  so  great  that  it  is  written : 

"And  the  sons  of  strangers  [Gentiles]  shall  build  up 
thy  walls,  and  their  kings  shall  minister  unto  thee." 

In  verse  12  we  are  told : 

"  The  nation  and  kingdom  that  will  not  serve  thee  shall 
perish ;  yea,  those  nations  shall  be  utterly  wasted." 

The  Gentiles  shall  sue  unto  them  as  we  are  told  in 
verse  14: 

"  The  sons  also  of  them  that  afflicted  thee  shall  come 


INTRODUCTION  OF  THE  KINGDOM     197 

bending  unto  thee;  and  all  they  that  despised  thee  shall 
bow  themselves  down  at  the  soles  of  thy  feet;  and  they 
shall  call  thee,  The  city  of  the  Lord,  The  Zion  of  the  Holy 
One  of  Israel." 

The  city  will  be  full  of  wealth.  Gold  will  be  as  plen- 
teous as  brass,  silver  as  common  as  iron,  brass  like  wood, 
and  iron  as  thick  as  stone.    Verse  17. 

The  people  will  be  all  righteous  and  they  shall  dwell 
in  the  land  as  their  eternal  inheritance. 

Is  this  condition  brought  about  by  the  preaching  of 
the  Gospel? 

If  so,  then,  to  say  the  least,  we  have  a  curious  result: 
the  whole  Gentile  world  flocking  to  Jerusalem  with  sup- 
pliant knee  to  own  the  supremacy  of  the  Jew. 

A  curious  result;  that  Gospel  rejected  by  the  Jew,  and 
according  to  the  inspired  Word  of  God,  to  be  rejected  by 
them  as  a  nation  to  the  very  last,  placing  those  who  have 
owned  it  in  submission  to  those  who  have  cofitinuously 
and  nationally  refused  it. 

But  the  opening  verse  of  the  chapter  shows  how  this 
state  and  condition  are  introduced: 

"  Arise,  shine ;  for  thy  light  is  come,  and  the  glory  of 
the  Lord  is  risen  upon  thee." 

Now  how  the  glory  of  the  Lord  rises  is  shown  in  the 
closing  verses  of  the  preceding  chapter : 

"  And  the  Redeemer  shall  come  to  Zion."  Verses  19-21. 

It  is  because  the  Lord  Himself  comes  to  Zion  that  the 
time  for  her  to  rise  and  shine  is  due ;  and  thus  it  is  evident 
that  the  shining,  resplendent  glory  of  Zion,  the  setting 
up  of  David's  kingdom  and  the  millennial  triumphs,  are 
the  result  of  the  personal  Coming  of  the  Lord,  coming  as 
we  have  seen  again  and  again  in  judgment. 

The  61  St  and  626.  chapters  are  millennial. 


198  THE   COMING   OF   CHRIST 

The  old  waste  places  are  to  be  rebuilt,  the  Gentiles  to  act 
as  employees  of  the  Jews : 

"And  strangers  [Gentiles]  shall  stand  and  feed  your 
flocks,  and  the  sons  of  the  alien  shall  be  your  plowmen, 
and  your  vinedressers." 

Everywhere  throughout  the  earth  the  people  of  Israel 
will  be  acknowledged  to  be  the  people  whom  God  hath 
pre-eminently  blessed: 

"  And  their  seed  shall  be  known  among  the  Gentiles, 
and  their  offspring  among  the  people;  all  that  see  them 
shall  acknowledge  them,  that  they  are  the  seed  which  the 
Lord  hath  blessed."     Verse  9. 

"  They  shall  be  called  the  holy  people,  the  redeemed  of 
the  Lord."    Isaiah  62 : 1-2. 

The  people  of  Israel  are  notified  how  this  high  and 
transcendent  time  shall  come  in : 

"  Behold,  the  Lord  hath  proclaimed  unto  the  end  of  the 
world.  Say  ye  to  the  daughter  of  Zion,  Behold,  thy  salva- 
tion cometh ;  behold,  his  reward  is  with  him,  and  his 
work  before  him."     Isaiah  62 :  11. 

That  this  phraseology  signifies  the  personal  Coming  of 
the  Lord  in  judgment  is  evident  by  the  testimony  of  the 
Lord  Himself: 

"  And,  behold,  I  come  quickly ;  and  my  reward  is  with 
me,  to  give  every  man  according  as  his  work  shall  be." 
Revelation  22:  12. 

Let  us  turn  to  the  63d  chapter. 

The  picture  is  presented  of  a  traveller  wearing  dyed 
garments  and  coming  from  Edom. 

His  apparel  is  like  that  of  one  who  has  trodden  in  the 
winepress  and  stained  all  his  garments. 

In  response  to  questions,  this  coming  one,  travelling  in 
the  greatness  of  His  strength  declares  His  identity: 

"  I  that  speak  in  righteousness,  mighty  to  save." 


INTRODUCTION  OP  THE  KINGDOM     199 

When  asked  why  His  garments  are  red  like  one  who 
has  trodden  the  winepress,  He  repHes : 

"  I  have  trodden  the  winepress  alone  ...  I  will  tread 
them  [the  people]  in  mine  anger,  and  trample  them  in 
my  fury ;  and  their  blood  shall  be  sprinkled  upon  my  gar- 
ments, and  I  will  stain  all  my  raiment.  For  the  day  of 
vengeance  is  in  mine  heart,  and  the  year  of  my  redeemed 
is  come."     Isaiah  63 :  1-4. 

Compare  this  prophecy  with  the  vision  in  Revelation 
19:11-16. 

"  Clothed  with  a  vesture  dipped  in  blood  .  .  .  and  he 
treadeth  the  winepress  of  the  fierceness  of  the  wrath  of 
Almighty  God." 

In  Revelation  the  Lord  comes  in  this  bloody  dress  to 
overthrow  the  Beast,  bind  Satan  and  set  up  the  kingdom 
of  the  thousand  years.  ' 

Here  in  Isaiah  He  is  seen  coming  in  the  same  gory 
garment,  with  a  heart  full  of  vengeance,  and  coming  to 

BRING  IN  THE  YEAR  OF  HiS  REDEEMED. 

Mark  it  well,  the  prophet  says  two  deliberate  things. 

Nay  ! 

The  Lord  Himself  says  them  : 

1.  He  is  coming  with  the  day  01  vengeance  in  His 
heart. 

2.  He  is  coming  with  the  year  of  the  redeemed  in  His 
heart. 

In  common  order  the  day  must  always  precede  the 
year. 

Vengeance  here  precedes  redemption. 

The  redemption  of  Israel  and  the  setting  up  of  the 
millennial  kingdom  are  preceded  by  the  vengeance  Com- 
ing, the  vindication  Coming,  the  Coming  in  judgment  of 
the  Lord. 

In  Isaiah  you  have  the  prophecy. 


200  THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST 

In  Revelation  you  have  the  scenic  illustration  of  the 
prophecy. 

In  Isaiah  you  have  the  prophecy. 

In  Revelation  you  have  the  picture. 

Prophecy  and  picture  are  a  dynamic  demonstration 
that  the  kingdom  and  reign  of  Christ  on  the  earth  are 
introduced  by  His  personal  Coming  in  judgment. 

Isaiah  65. 

In  this  chapter  we  have  the  announcement  of  a  new 
heavens  and  a  new  earth. 

In  the  meantime  Jerusalem  is  rebuilt,  Israel  is  filled 
with  blessing,  and  the  character  of  the  time  is  indicated 
by  the  declaration  that  "  the  wolf  and  the  lamb  shall  feed 
together,  and  the  lion  shall  eat  straw  like  the  bullock :  and 
dust  shall  be  the  serpent's  meat.  They  shall  not  hurt  nor 
destroy  in  all  my  holy  mountain,  saith  the  Lord." 

The  previous  chapter,  however,  describes  a  condition  of 
sin  and  shame  prevailing  before  all  this  brightness  is 
realized. 

The  65th  chapter  is  but  a  prolongation  of  the  woe  and 
sorrow  and  sin  description  of  the  64th  chapter.  That 
chapter  opens  with  a  cry  for  deliverance. 

"  Oh,  that  thou  wouldest  rend  the  heavens,  that  thou 
wouldest  come  down,  that  the  mountains  might  flow  down 
at  thy  presence."     Isaiah  64:  i. 

It  is  after  this  prayer,  the  confession  of  sin,  and  the 
acknowledged  desolation  of  Israel,  that  we  have  the  vision 
of  glory.  In  the  order  of  statement,  therefore,  the  Com- 
ing of  the  Lord  in  the  majesty  of  His  presence,  precedes 
the  blessing. 

The  66th  chapter  opens  with  the  Lord's  assertion  of 
His  ownership  of  Heaven  and  earth.  He  denounces  the 
sin  and  abomination  in  those  who,  in  Israel,  claim  His 


INTRODUCTION  OF  THE  KINGDOM     201 

name;  then  in  the  5th  verse,  He  announces  that  He  will 
appear  to  the  joy  of  those  who  trust  in  Him,  and  to  the 
shame  and  confusion  of  those  who  are  guilty  and  sin- 
ful. A  description  follows  of  the  regeneration  of  the 
nation : 

"  For  as  soon  as  Zion  travailed,  she  brought  forth  her 
children."     Verse  8. 

Assurance  of  supremacy  over  the  nations  is  given  and 
the  producing  cause  of  it  made  clear. 

"  For,  behold,  the  Lord  will  come  with  fire,  and  with 
his  chariots  like  a  whirlwind,  to  render  his  anger  with 
fury,  and  his  rebuke  with  flames  of  fire. 

"  For  by  fire  and  by  his  sword  will  the  Lord  plead  with 
all  flesh:  and  the  slain  of  the  Lord  shall  be  many." 
Isaiah  66:  15,  16. 

And  this  is  the  testimony  of  the  Prophet  Isaiah. 

Not  once  does  he  hint  either  by  type  or  figure  that  the 
Gospel  is  to  be  the  producing  cause  of  the  millennial  glory 
and  kingdom. 

Continually  he  talks  of  garments  rolled  in  blood;  of 
thunder  and  fire  from  the  presence  of  a  coming  and 
avenging  Lord  and,  then,  the  kingdom. 

His  pen  portrays  for  us  without  st?nt  the  joys  of  that 
hour  in  which  the  Son  of  God  as  the  Son  of  David  shall 
sit  upon  His  father's  throne,  and  from  Jerusalem,  as  the 
world's  great  capital,  administer  the  ways  of  righteous- 
ness and  truth ;  but  the  brighter,  the  more  delightful  the 
description  he  gives  of  that  anticipated  time,  the  more 
positive  he  is  that  it  can  be  introduced  only  by  the  Coming 
of  the  Lord  in  glory  and  judgment. 

If  he  speaks  of  the  kingdom  of  God  and  His  Christ, 
he  unfailingly  talks  of  that  other  kingdom  of  Satan  which 
precedes  it;  and  it  is  suggestive,  that  he  mentions  the 


202  THE    COMING    OF    CHRIST 

Antichrist  more  frequently  than  any  other  of  the  in- 
spired writers. 

The  testimony  of  Isaiah  therefore  precludes  any 
thought  of  a  millennium  till  the  Lord  Himself  brings  it 
in  through  the  brazen  doors  of  a  fiery  judgment. 

Let  us  now  hear  the  testimony  of  the  prophet  Jeremiah. 

"  At  that  time  they  shall  call  Jerusalem  the  throne  of 
the  Lord ;  and  all  the  nations  shall  be  gathered  unto  it,  to 
the  name  of  the  Lord,  to  Jerusalem :  neither  shall  they 
walk  any  more  after  the  imagination  of  their  evil 
heart. 

"  In  those  days  the  house  of  Judah  shall  walk  with  the 
house  of  Israel,  and  they  shall  come  together  out  of  the 
land  of  the  north  to  the  land  that  I  have  given  for  an  in- 
heritance unto  your  fathers."    Jeremiah  3 :  17,  18. 

Compare  now  Matthew  25  :  31,  32. 

"  When  the  Son  of  man  shall  come  in  his  glory,  and  all 
the  holy  angels  with  him,  then  shall  he  sit  upon  the 
throne  of  his  glory. 

"  And  before  him  shall  be  gathered  all  nations." 

The  king  enters  into  judgment.  He  deals  with  the 
assembled  nations  according  to  the  manner  of  treatment 
they  have  given  to  His  brethren.  His  brethren  in  the  flesh, 
Jews,  Israel.  To  those  who  have  owned  and  recognized 
them  as  identified  with  Himself,  He  says :  "  Come,  inherit 
the  kingdom." 

Now  in  Jeremiah  we  see  Jerusalem  as  the  throne  of  the 
Lord,  the  kingdom  inherited,  possessed,  and  all  nations 
gathered  to  own  the  supremacy  of  the  King. 

In  Matthew  we  see  the  kingdom  introduced  by  the 
Coming  of  the  King  in  judgment. 

In  Jeremiah  we  learn  that  the  kingdom  and  the  "  throne 
of  glory  "  of  which  Matthew  speaks  are  in  Jerusalem. 


INTRODUCTION  OF  THE  KINGDOM     203 
« 

Matthew  and  Jeremiah  corroborate  each  other. 

In  the  30th  chapter  the  prophet  pictures  the  millennial 
glory  of  Israel. 

The  nation  restored  to  health,  brought  back  to  their 
own  land,  the  city  builded  on  its  "  own  heap,"  filled  with 
the  voice  of  thanksgiving  and  merrymaking.  They  are 
His  people  and  He  is  their  God,  even  the  Lord. 

But  turn  to  the  seventh  verse  and  read  the  condition 
that  precedes  this  enviable  state. 

"  Alas !  for  that  day  is  great,  so  that  none  is  like  it:  it  is 
even  the  time  of  Jacob's  trouble;  but  he  shall  be  saved 
out  of  it." 

Now  what  is  this  time  of  Jacob's  trouble  so  that  none 
is  like  it? 

Let  the  Lord  Himself  tell  us. 

"  For  then  shall  be  great  tribulation,  such  as  was  not 
since  the  beginning  of  the  world  to  this  time,  nor  ever 
shall  be."     Matthew  24:21. 

Our  Lord  is  describing  what  will  take  place  in  the  land 
of  Jacob  just  previous  to  His  appearing  in  glory. 

In  verse  29,  He  says : 

"  Immediately  after  the  tribulation  of  those  days  shall 
the  sun  be  darkened,  and  the  moon  shall  not  give  her 
light,  and  the  stars  shall  fall  from  heaven,  and  the  powers 
of  the  heavens  shall  be  shaken. 

"  And  then  shall  appear  the  sign  of  the  Son  of  man  in 
heaven  .  .  .  and  they  shall  see  the  Son  of  man  coming  in 
the  clouds  of  heaven  with  power  and  great  glory." 

The  great  tribulation,  that  is  the  time  of  Jacob's  trouble. 

Jeremiah  says  Jacob  shall  be  saved  out  of  it. 

Our  Lord,  speaking  here  in  the  record  of  Matthew, 
says  He  Himself  is  coming  in  the  clouds  of  heaven  to 
deliver  him. 


204  THE    COMING   OF   CHRIST 

Jeremiah  says,  after  the  saving  out  of  the  tribulation  the 
city  shall  be  builded  and  the  kingdom  established. 

Our  Lord  says  He  is  coming  to  deliver  him,  and  there- , 
fore  to  set  up,  the  kingdom. 

The  unprecedented  tribulation  has  not  yet  come. 

The  destruction  of  Jerusalem  does  not  fill  the  require- 
ments. 

It  does  not  fill  them  because  our  Lord  says  "immedi- 
ately after  those  days  "  He  should  be  seen  coming  in  the 
clouds  of  heaven. 

He  never  has  been  seen  coming  in  the  clouds  of  heaven. 

The  day  of  tribulation  is  yet  future. 

It  must  come  before  the  day  of  blessedness. 

It  must  come  before  the  millennium. 

And  Jeremiah  says  Jacob  shall  be  saved  out  of  it. 

And  how  does  he  say  h^will  he  saved  out  of  it  ? 

"  In  that  day,  saith  the  Lord,  I  will  break  his  [Anti- 
christ's] yoke  from  ofif  thy  neck."     Verse  8. 

How? 

"  Behold  the  whirlwind  of  the  Lord  goeth  forth  with 
fury,  a  continuing  whirlwind ;  it  shall  fall  with  pain  upon 
the  head  of  the  wicked, 

"  The  anger  of  the  Lord  shall  not  return,  until  he  have 
done  it,  and  until  he  have  performed  the  intents  of  his 
heart:  in  the  latter  days  shall  ye  consider  it."  Verses 
23,  24. 

Here  you  find  that  the  wicked  is  he  whose  yoke  is 
described  in  the  seventh  verse  as  upon  the  neck  of 
Israel. 

And  is  not  this  the  very  language  in  which  the  Apostle 
describes  the  Man  of  sin,  the  "  Wicked,"  who  is  to  be 
overthrown  by  the  brightness  of  the  Lord's  Coming  as 
set  forth  in  2  Thessalonians  2:8? 


INTRODUCTION  OF  THE  KINGDOM     205 

"  And  then  shall  that  wicked  be  revealed,  whom  the 
Lord  shall  consume  with  the  Spirit  of  his  mouth,  and 
shall  destroy  with  the  brightness  of  his  coming." 

Thus  Jeremiah  in  accord  with  Paul  and  the  Son  of 
God  declares : 

1.  A  great  and  terrible  day  of  tribulation  is  coming. 

2.  A  Wicked  one  will  place  a  yoke  upon  the  neck  of 
Israel. 

3.  The  Lord  will  come  like  a  whirlwind  to  overthrow 
the  Wicked  one,  break  the  yoke  of  Israel  and  save  him 
out  of  his  tribulation. 

4.  After  the  Coming  of  the  Lord  in  the  whirlwind  of 
His  glory,  in  the  majesty  of  His  judgment,  Zion  shall 
be  restored,  the  city  rebuilded,  the  people  will  own  the 
Lord  and  be  owned  of  Him ;  and  thus  the  kingdom  will 
be  brought  in. 

Ezekiel  gives  a  picture  of  the  millennial  glory. 

The  Lord  assures  him  that  Jerusalem  shall  be  rebuilt 
and  the  holy  temple  established  and  that  He  will  Him- 
self dwell  there  in  person. 

He  says : 

"And  he  said  unto  me,  Son  of  man,  the  place  of  my 
throne,  and  the  place  of  the  soles  of  my  feet,  where  I 
will  dwell  in  the  midst  of  the  children  of  Israel  forever." 
Ezekiel  43 : 7. 

This  condition  of  glory  has  its  initial  act. 

We  read: 

"  The  glory  of  the  God  of  Israel  came  from  the  way  of 
the  east,  and  his  voice  was  like  a  noise  of  many  waters : 
and  the  earth  shined  with  his  glory."     Verse  2. 

This  is  plainly  a  description  of  the  personal  advent  of 
the  Lord. 

He  comes  to  Jerusalem.     He  dwells  in  the  city.    The 


2o6  THE    COMING    OF    CHRIST 

place  of  His  throne  is  in  the  temple ;  for  He  is  a  king  and 
priest  upon  His  throne. 

After  His  glorious  Coming  it  is  written : 

"  And  my  holy  name  shall  the  house  of  Israel  no  more 
defile."     Verse  7. 

Thus  Ezekiel  teaches  us  that  the  glorious  kingdom  is 
set  up  by  the  glorious  Coming  of  the  glorious  Lord ;  and 
in  the  last  chapter  and  the  last  verse  as  a  fitting  climkx  to 
his  millennial  story  he  tells  us  that  "  the  name  of  the  city 
[Jerusalem]  from  that  day  shall  be  The  Lord  is  there." 

Scripture  after  Scripture  testifies  that  the  glorious  Com- 
ing of  the  Lord  is  attended  with  judgment;  thus  an- 
other witness  is  added  to  the  manifold  testimony  that  the 
kingdom  is  to  be  introduced  by  judgment  at  the  Coming 
of  the  Lord. 

We  pass  into  the  book  of  Daniel. 

In  the  second  chapter  Nebuchadnezzar  the  king  of 
Babylon  has  a  dream.  In  his  dream  he  beholds  an  image 
with  head  of  gold,  breast  and  arms  of  silver,  belly  and 
thighs  of  brass,  legs  of  iron,  toes  part  of  iron  and  part  of 
clay.  He  sees  a  stone  cut  out  of  the  mountain  without 
hand;  it  falls  upon  the  feet  of  the  image,  breaks  it  in 
pieces,  the  fragments  are  carried  away  as  the  dust  of  a 
summer's  threshing  floor  are  swept  away  by  the  wind; 
the  stone  becomes  a  great  mountain  and  fills  the  whole 
earth. 

Daniel  gives  the  interpretation  of  the  dream. 
He  says  the  image  represents  the  whole  course  of  Gentile 
rule  in  the  earth  from  the  days  of  Nebuchadnezzar  until 
the  Coming  of  the  Son  of  man  to  set  up  his  kingdom. 

He  declares  that  Babylon  represented  by  Nebuchad- 
nezzar is  the  first  kingdom. 

The  breast  and  arms  of  silver  represent  a  second  king- 


INTRODUCTION  OF  THE  KINGDOM     207 

dom  that  shall  succeed  the  kingdom  of  Babylon.  This 
kingdom  we  find  in  the  fifth  chapter,  thirtieth  and  thirty- 
first  verse  to  be  the  Medo-Persian  kingdom ;  the  full  name 
is  found  in  the  eighth  chapter. 

The  belly  and  thighs  of  brass  represent  a  third  king- 
dom coming  in  as  successor  to  the  second.  This  third 
kingdom  is  identified  in  the  eighth  chapter  as  the  kingdom 
of  Greece. 

The  legs  of  iron  represent  the  fourth  and  last  kingdom 
which  succeeds  to  the  first  three ;  from  the  New  Testament 
we  find  that  this  is  the  kingdom  of  Rome. 

The  ten  toes  we  are  told  are  ten  kings ;  for  Daniel  says, 
"  in  the  days  of  these  kings."  These  ten  kings  represent 
the  final  form  of  the  fourth  or  Roman  kingdom. 

In  the  seventh  chapter  Daniel  sees  these  ten  kings 
united  under  an  eleventh  king  as  a  sort  of  king  of  kings, 
and  lord  of  lords. 

The  stone  cut  out  of  the  mountain  without  hand  is  be- 
yond dispute  that  "  Stone  rejected  by  the  builders,"  the 
Christ  of  God. 

The  stone  becoming  a  great  mountain  and  filling  the 
whole  earth  represents  the  Lord  setting  up  His  universal 
kingdom. 

The  stone  falling,  represents  the  descent,  the  Coming  of 
the  Lord. 

Falling  upon  the  feet  of  the  image,  smiting  them  and 
breaking  them  to  pieces,  the  Coming  of  the  Lord  in  judg- 
ment upon  the  ten  kings  under  their  great  and  impious 
head,  the  Man  of  sin,  the  Antichrist. 

The  falling,  and  the  smiting,  the  sweeping  away  of  the 
pieces  like  chaff,  are  a  dramatic  demonstration  that  the 
kingdom  of  the  Christ  is  introduced  by  judgment  at  His 
Coming. 


2o8  THE   COMING    OF   CHRIST 

In  the  seventh  chapter  the  testimony  is  clear  and 
unmistakable. 

"  I  saw  in  the  night  visions,  and,  behold,  one  like  the 
Son  of  man  came  with  the  clouds  of  heaven,  and  came  to 
the  Ancient  of  days,  and  they  brought  him  near  before 
him."    Verse  13. 

This  is  unmistakably  a  vision  of  the  second  Coming  of 
the  Lord. 

Now  read  what  follozvs  this  Coming : 

"  And  there  was  given  him  dominion,  and  glory,  and  a 
kingdom,  that  all  people,  nations,  and  languages,  should 
serve  him :  his  dominion  is  an  everlasting  dominion,  which 
shall  not  pass  away,  and  his  kingdom  that  which  shall  not 
be  destroyed."    Verse  14. 

Can  anything  be  added  to  that  to  make  it  clearer? 

The  Lord  is  coming  in  great  power  and  glory. 

After  He  comes  in  power  and  glory  He  will  receive  a 
kingdom. 

But  now  let  us  turn  to  verse  23. 

Here  we  have  an  inspired  explanation  of  the  fourth 
beast  which  Daniel  sees  in  a  vision. 

This  seventh  chapter  in  the  opening  verses  tells  us  that 
Daniel  saw  coming  up  out  of  the  sea  four  great  beasts. 
The  first  was  like  a  lion,  the  second  like  a  bear,  the  third 
like  a  leopard  and  the  fourth  diverse  from  all  the  other 
beasts ;  it  had  ten  horns.  While  he  was  considering,  an- 
other horn,  an  eleventh  horn,  rose  up  out  of  the  midst  of 
them  and  plucked  up  three  horns ;  this  horn  had  eyes  like 
a  man  and  a  mouth  speaking  great  things.  These  four 
beasts  represent  four  kingdoms.  This  is  evident  from 
the  fact  that  Daniel  declares  the  fourth  beast  to  represent 
a  kingdom.  The  other  three  represent,  then,  necessarily, 
three   kingdoms   which  precede  this   fourth;   now   this 


INTRODUCTION  OF  THE  KINGDOM     209 

fourth  has  a  characteristic  which  connects  it  with  the 
fourth  part  of  the  image  seen  in  the  second  chapter ;  that 
characteristic  is  iron.  From  this  it  is  evident  that  the 
whole  four  beasts  represent  the  same  kingdom  indicated 
by  the  four  parts  of  the  image:  Babylon,  Medo-Persia, 
Greece  and  Rome. 

Daniel  leaves  us  in  no  doubt  about  the  fourth  beast. 

Hear  what  he  says  in  this  23d  verse : 

"  The  fourth  beast  shall  be  the  fourth  kingdom  upon 
earth.'' 

He  is  clear  about  the  ten  horns  out  of  the  beast : 

"  And  the  ten  horns  out  of  this  kingdom  are  ten  kings 
that  shall  arise;  and  another  shall  arise  after  them;  and 
he  shall  be  diverse  from  the  first,  and  he  shall  subdue  three 
kings. 

And  he  shall  speak  great  words  against  the  Most  High, 
and  shall  wear  out  the  saints  of  the  Most  High,  and  think 
to  change  times  and  laws:  and  they  shall  be  given  into 
his  hand,  until  a  time  and  times  and  the  dividing  of  time." 

Here  then  we  have  a  ten  kinged  confederacy  under  the 
headship  of  a  person  who  is  full  of  blasphemy  and 
sin. 

This  portrait  surely  agrees  with  the  description  which 
Saint  Paul  gives  of  the  Son  of  Perdition,  the  Man  of  Sin, 
and  whom  Saint  John  describes  in  Revelation  thirteenth 
and  seventeenth.  In  Revelation  thirteenth  we  read  of  the 
Beast  who  is  energized  by  Satan,  and  in  the  seventeenth 
chapter  we  are  told  that  "  the  ten  horns  are  ten  kings 
.  .  .  these  have  one  mind,  and  shall  give  their  power 
and  strength  unto  the  beast.  These  shall  make  war  with 
the  Lamb,  and  the  Lamb  shall  overcome  them."  Verses 
12-14. 

We  turn  back  to  Daniel  and  read : 


210  THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST 

"  But  the  judgment  shall  sit,  and  they  shall  take  away 
his  dominion  to  consume  and  to  destroy  it  to  the  end." 
V.  26. 

Now  mark  the  result : 

"  The  kingdom  and  dominion,  and  the  greatness  of  the 
kingdom  under  the  whole  heaven,  shall  be  given  to  the 
people  of  the  saints  of  the  Most  High,  whose  kingdom  is 
an  everlasting  kingdom,  and  all  dominions  shall  serve  and 
obey  him."  v.  27. 

From  Daniel  then  we  learn : 

1.  Previous  to  the  Coming  of  the  Lord  there  will  be  an 
individual  who  will  arise  out  of  the  region  of  the  Roman 
empire. 

2.  He  will  be  the  head  over  ten  kings  in  that  region. 

3.  He  bears  all  the  marks  which  Saint  Paul  and  Saint 
John  ascribe  to  the  Man  of  Sin,  the  Antichrist. 

4.  He  will  raise  himself  up  in  rage  and  blasphemy 
against  God  and  His  Christ. 

5.  Christ  the  Lord  will  come  as  the  Son  of  man  in 
great  glory. 

6.  The  usurping  king  and  his  confederates  will  be 
judged  and  overthrown. 

7.  After  the  Coming  of  the  Son  of  man,  the  judgment 
and  overthrow  of  the  king  and  his  kings,  the  promised 
kingdom  of  God  and  Christ  will  be  set  up. 

Thus  Daniel  joins  the  witnesses  who  say  that  the  king- 
dom, the  millennial  kingdom,  is  to  be  introduced  by  the 
Coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  judgment. 

It  is  to  be  remembered  that  in  the  remarkable  scene  in 
Revelation  fifth,  after  the  Lord  as  the  slain  Lamb  comes 
before  the  throne-sitter  and  takes  the  seven  sealed  roll  or 
little  book  out  of  His  hand,  that  the  voices  of  the  saints 
in  Heaven  break  out  into  song  crying: 


INTRODUCTION  OF  THE  KINGDOM     211 

"  Thou  art  worthy  to  take  the  book,  and  to  open  the 
seals  thereof:  for  thou  wast  slain,  and  hast  redeemed  us 
to  God  by  thy  blood,  out  of  every  kindred,  and  tongue, 
and  people,  and  nation. 

And  hast  made  us  unto  our  God  kings  and  priests ;  and 
we  shall  reign  on  [over]  the  earth." 

The  kingdom  is  consequent  on  the  rising  up  and  the 
coming  forth  of  the  King. 

Finally,  let  us  turn  to  the  twelfth  chapter  of  Daniel's 
prophecy. 

"  And  at  that  time  [the  time  of  the  "  king,"  "  the  beast," 
"  the  eleventh  horn,"  "  the  Prince  that  shall  come,"  he 
who  is  the  Man  of  Sin,  the  Antichrist,  described  in  the 
preceding  chapters]  Michael  shall  stand  up,  the  great 
prince  which  standeth  for  the  children  of  thy  people ;  and 
there  shall  be  a  time  of  trouble,  such  as  never  was  since 
there  was  a  nation  even  to  that  same  time:  and  at  that 
time  thy  people  shall  be  delivered,  every  one  that  shall  be 
found  written  in  the  book." 

Note  what  Daniel  says : 

1.  There  shall  be  a  time  of  trouble. 

2.  A  time  of  trouble  the  like  of  which  has  never  been 
known. 

3.  This  trouble  will  be  peculiarly  upon  Daniel's  people, 
the  Jews. 

4.  A  deliverer  will  come  to  God's  ancient  people,  and ' 
deliver  them  from  that  hour. 

5.  That  deliverer  will  be  Michael;  that  angel  whose 
significant  name  is  the  question :  "  Who  is  like  God  ?  " 

As  Michael  is  present,  as  his  voice  is  heard  sounding 
in  the  moment  when  our  Lord  comes  the  second  time  (for 
according  to  i  Thessalonians  4:16,  "the  Lord  himself 
shall  descend  from  heaven  with  a  shout,  with  the  voice 


212  THE   COMING    OF   CHRIST. 

of  the  archangel"),  then  this  deliverance  belongs  to  the 
category  of  the  Coming  of  the  Lord. 

6.  Daniel's  people  will  be  delivered  and  brought  into 
the  age-lasting  kingdom. 

7.  It  is  a  deliverance  that  follows  the  Tribulation  and 
is  brought  about  by  the  personal  Coming  of  the  Lord. 

Turn  now  to  Matthew  24;  read  again  what  we  have 
from  headquarters,  from  the  Lord  Himself. 
In  this  chapter  He  tells  us : 

1.  A  time  of  trouble  is  coming  to  Jacob,  to  Daniel's 
people,  the  Jews. 

2.  A  tribulation  unprecedented  in  the  annals  of  the 
world : 

"  Then  shall  be  great  tribulation,  such  as  was  not  since 
the  beginning  of  the  world  to  this  time,  no,  nor  ever  shall 
be."  V.  21. 

3.  An  elect  number  among  the  people  of  the  Lord 
(the  Jews)  will  be  saved  through  this  tribulation. 

4.  Their  salvation  and  deliverance  will  come  to  them 
by  and  through  the  personal  appearing  of  the  Lord  from 
Heaven. 

5.  The  Lord  will  come  immediately  after  this  tribula- 
tion, as  it  is  written : 

"  Immediately  after  the  tribulation  of  those  days  .  .  . 
they  shall  see  the  Son  of  man  coming  in  the  clouds  of 
heaven,  with  power  and  great  glory."  vs.  29,  30.  That  is 
to  say,  the  Coming  of  the  Lord  is  the  signal  for  the  ending 
of  the  tribulation,  the  moment  for  the  deliverance  of  His 
people. 

Thus  Daniel  and  the  Lord  are  in  exact  agreement ;  and 
he  witnesses  that  the  kingdom  and  the  glory  are  estab- 
lished by  the  personal  appearing  of  the  Lord. 


INTRODUCTION  OF  THE  KINGDOM     213 

We  now  pass  to  the  testimony  of  Joel. 

"  Alas  for  the  day !  for  the  day  of  the  Lord  is  at  hand, 
and  as  a  destruction  from  the  Almighty  shall  it  come." 
Joel  1 :  15. 

The  day  of  the  Lord !  that  day  which  is  the  threshold 
of  the  kingdom ;  the  day  which  holds  in  it  the  millennial 
hour ;  that  day  at  the  very  thought  of  which  the  prophet 
breaks  into  lamentation ;  a  day  that  shall  come  from  the 
Lord  like  a  whirlwind  of  destruction. 

The  third  chapter  gives  us  a  distinctively  millennial 
scene : 

"  Then  shall  Jerusalem  be  holy,  and  there  shall  no 
strangers  [Gentiles]  pass  through  her  any  more  [tread 
her  down]. 

And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  that  day,  that  the  mountains 
shall  drop  down  new  wine,  and  the  hills  shall  flow  with 
milk,  and  all  the  rivers  of  Judah  shall  flow  with  waters, 
and  a  fountain  shall  come  forth  of  the  house  of  the  Lord, 
and  shall  water  the  valley  of  Shittim  .  .  .  Judah  shall 
dwell  forever,  and  Jerusalem  from  generation  to  genera- 
tion ...  for  the  Lord  dwelleth  in  Zion."  Joel  3: 
17-21. 

And  now  examine  how  this  era  is  introduced. 

1.  All  nations  (the  ten  nations  of  the  Antichrist)  will 
be  gathered  in  the  valley  of  Jehoshaphat. 

"  I  will  also  gather  all  nations,  and  will  bring  them 
down  into  the  valley  of  Jehoshaphat."  v.  i. 

2.  A  proclamation  will  be  made  to  the  nations  bidding 
them  prepare  for  war. 

"  Proclaim  ye  this  among  the  Gentiles ;  Prepare  war, 
wake  up  the  mighty  men,  let  all  the  men  of  war  draw 
near."  v.  9. 


ei4  THE    COMING    OF    CHRIST 

3.  Ploughshares  will  be  beaten  into  swords  and 
pruning  hooks  into  spears. 

"  Beat  your  ploughshares  into  swords,  and  your 
pruning  hooks  into  spears."  v.  10. 

4.  The  Lord  will  cause  His  mighty  ones  (His  angels) 
to  come  down. 

"  Thither  cause  thy  mighty  ones  to  come  down,  O 
Lord."  V.  II. 

5.  The  Lord  Himself  will  come  down  and  sit  there  as 
Judge. 

"  The  valley  of  Jehoshaphat :  for  there  will  I  sit  to  judge 
all  the  heathen  round  about,"  v.  12. 

Here  you  have  precisely  the  same  event  recorded  in 
Matthew  25 :  31,  32.  » 

"  When  the  Son  of  man  shall  come  in  his  glory,  and  all 
the  holy  angels  with  him  [his  mighty  ones]  then  shall  he 
sit  upon  the  throne  of  his  glory. 

And  before  him  shall  be  gathered  all  nations  [all  the 
nations,  the  ten  nations,  the  heathen  of  Joel]." 

6.  Sun,  moon  and  stars  will  be  turned  into  darkness. 
Joel  2:  30,  31. 

7.  The  Lord  will  "  roar  "  out  of  Zion  and  utter  His 
voice  from  Jerusalem,  and  the  heavens  and  the  earth  shall 
shake.    Joel  3:16. 

And  then,  after  all  this  gathering  of  the  nations,  and 
this  mighty  revelation  of  our  Lord  in  judgment,  then, 
shall  Jerusalem  be  holy.  v.  17. 

Thus  Joel  joins  his  testimony  to  those  who  have  pre- 
ceded him,  declaring  that  the  kingdom  is  brought  in 
through  commotion  in  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  through 
the  crash  of  battle,  and  the  Coming  of  the  Lord  in 
personal  judgment. 

We  turn  to  Amos  9 : 9-15. 


INTRODUCTION  OF  THE  KINGDOM     215 

We  learn  here : 

1.  The  Lord  will  sift  the  house  of  Israel  among  all 
nations. 

"  I  will  sift  the  house  of  Israel  among  all  nations,  like 
as  corn  is  sifted  in  a  sieve."  v.  9. 

2.  He  will  bring  a  sword  on  the  sinners  of  His 
people. 

"  All  the  sinners  of  my  people  shall  die  by  the  sword." 
V.  10. 

3.  After  that  He  will  raise  up  (restore)  the  tabernacle 
(the  house)  of  David. 

"  In  that  day  I  will  raise  up  the  tabernacle  of  David 
that  is  fallen,  and  close  up  the  breaches  thereof :  and  I  will 
raise  up  his  ruins,  and  I  will  build  it  as  in  the  days  of 
old."  v.  II. 

Two  things  are  clear  here : 

1.  The  Lord  will  bring  judgment  on  Israel  in  a  two- 
fold way :  by  scattering  them  among  the  nations,  and  by 
the  sword. 

2.  After  judgment  on  them  He  will  restore  the 
kingdom. 

Now  if  we  turn  to  the  book  of  Acts  15 :  14-17,  we  shall 
hear  the  Apostle  James  speaking  in  the  great  council  at 
Antioch. 

He  says : 

"  Simeon  hath  declared  how  God  at  the  first  did  visit 
the  Gentiles,  to  take  out  of  them  a  people  for  his  name. 

And  to  this  agree  the  words  of  the  prophet  [the  passage 
we  are  considering  in  Amos],  as  it  is  written. 

After  this  I  will  return,  and  will  build  again  the  taber- 
nacle of  David,  which  is  fallen  down;  and  I  will  build 
again  the  ruins  thereof,  and  I  will  set  it  up." 

It  is  evident   that  the  Apostle  James,  guided  by  the 


2i6  THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST 

Spirit,  interprets  the  promise  in  Amos  as  signifying  the 
Coming  of  the  Lord,  and  thus  emphasizes  the  testimony 
of  the  prophet,  that  the  kingdom  in  Israel  will  be  restored 
and  established  after  that  event — and  not  till  after  it. 

Obadiah  testifies  to  the  same  effect : 

"  For  the  day  of  the  Lord  is  near  upon  all  the  heathen." 
vs.  15,  16. 

Examination  shows  that  he  says : 

1.  The  day  of  the  Lord  is  near. 

2.  It  will  be  a  time  of  judgment  on  the  Gentiles. 

3.  After  the  judgment  Zion  shall  be  delivered,  and 
Jacob  shall  enjoy  his  possessions. 

Micah  tells  us  that  the  Lord  will  assemble  Jacob  and 
gather  the  remnant  of  Israel;  that  he  will  put  them  to- 
gether as  a  flock  of  sheep,  multiply  them,  and  be  their 
delivering  Head. 

"  I  will  surely  assemble,  O  Jacob,  all  of  thee !  I  will 
surely  gather  the  remnant  of  Israel;  I  will  put  them  to- 
gether as  the  sheep  of  Bozrah,  as  the  flock  in  the  midst 
of  their  fold."    Micah  2:12. 

But  what  will  He  do  before  He  thus  gathers  and 
establishes  them. 

Hear  the  answer. 

"  For,  behold,  the  Lord  cometh  forth  out  of  his  place, 
and  will  come  down,  and  tread  upon  the  high  places  of 
the  earth. 

And  the  mountains  shall  be  molten  under  him,  and  the 
valleys  shall  be  cleft,  as  wax  before  the  fire,  and  as  waters 
that  are  poured  down  a  steep  place." 

Micah  says  the  kingdom  of  Israel  will  be  established 
by  the  personal  Coming  of  the  Lord  in  judgment. 

Let  us  now  take  up  the  sublime  testimony  of  the 
prophet  Habakkuk. 


INTRODUCTION  OF  THE  KINGDOM     217 

This  testimony  is  given  in  the  third  chapter  of  his 
prophecy. 
He  says: 

1.  The  Lord  is  coming,  and  His  glory  will  cover  the 
Heavens. 

2.  Before  Him  is  the  pestilence,  and  burning  coals  are 
under  His  feet. 

3.  He  stands  and  measures  the  earth  as  one  who  is  its 
rightful  King. 

4.  He  drives  asunder,  as  a  cleaving  wedge,  the  con- 
federacy of  the  nations  (the  ten). 

5.  He  scatters  the  everlasting  mountains. 

6.  The  perpetual  hills  bow  in  adoration  before  Him. 

7.  His  anger  and  wrath  are  seen  against  the  rivers 
(as  under  the  trumpets  and  the  vials  of  the  Revelation). 

8.  The  whole  universe  shivers  as  its  Maker  and  Master 
passes  to  the  enthronement  of  His  glory. 

9.  His  march  through  the  land  is  that  of  indignation. 

10.  He  threshes  the  heathen  as  one  thresheth  the  chaff 
from  the  wheat. 

And  why  does  the  Lord  come  forth  in  this  madness  of 
glory,  in  this  fierce  splendor  of  judgment? 

And  this  is  the  answer : 

"  Thou  wentest  forth  for  the  salvation  of  thy  people." 
V.  13. 

And  what  is  the  supreme  stroke  which  delivers  them? 

Behold  again  the  answer. 

"Thou  woundest  the  head  out  of  the  house  of  the 
wicked."  V.  13. 

Here  you  have  the  same  lurid  figure,  the  same  wicked 
one  that  we  have  met  everywhere  in  this  investigation: 
he  who  is  the  Man  of  Sin,  the  Antichrist.  Thus  Habakkuk 
proclaims  the  deliverance  of  Israel,  the  bringing  in  of 


2i8  THE   COMING    OF   CHRIST 

the  covenant  kingdom,  and  therefore  the  millennial  day, 
by  the  Coming  of  the  Lord  with  flashing  chariots, 
gleaming  arrows,  glittering  spears  and  the  thunders  of 
judgment. 

Let  us  examine  the  testimony  of  Zephaniah. 

"  Therefore  wait  ye  upon  me,  saith  the  Lord,  until  the 
day  that  I  rise  up  to  the  prey ;  for  my  determination  is  to 
gather  the  nations,  that  I  may  assemble  the  kingdoms 
[the  ten],  to  pour  upon  them  mine  indignation,  even  all 
my  fierce  anger :  for  all  the  earth  shall  be  devoured  with 
the  fire  of  my  jealousy.  For  then  will  I  turn  to  the 
people  a  pure  language,  that  they  may  all  call  upon  the 
name  of  the  Lord,  to  serve  him  with  one  consent." 
Zephaniah  3 :  8,  9. 

"^  Then,  will  I  turn  to  the  people  a  pure  language." 

Then  shall  all  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord. 

Then  shall  all  serve  him  with  one  consent. 

Then  ! 

When? 

Listen  to  the  Lord's  own  declaration : 

1.  "  The  day  that  I  rise  up  to  the  prey." 

2.  Assemble  the  kingdoms  (the  ten). 

3.  Pour  upon  them  mine  indignation. 

4.  All  my  fierce  anger. 

5.  The  fire  of  my  jealousy. 

6.  Then  will  I  turn  to  the  people  a  pure  language. 

7.  Then  they  may  all  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord. 

8.  To  serve  Him  with  one  accord. 
Now  read  v.  14 : 

"  Sing,  O  daughter  of  Zion ;  shout,  O  Israel ;  be  glad 
and  rejoice  with  all  the  heart,  O  daughter  of  Jerusalem. 

The  Lord  hath  taken  away  thy  judgments,  he  hath  cast 
out  thine  enemy  [the  Antichrist]  ;  the  king  of  Israel,  even 


INTRODUCTION  OF  THE  KINGDOM     219 

the  Lord,  is  in  the  midst  of  thee :  thou  shalt  not  see  evil 
any  more." 
Note  here: 

1.  Zion  is  to  sing  because  the  Lord  hath  cast  out  her 
enemy. 

And  who  is  he  but  that  Man  of  Sin,  the  Oppressor,  the 
wild  Beast,  the  Antichrist  ? 

2.  The  Lord  has  taken  the  place  of  the  false  Christ, 
the  false  God,  and  his  false  prophet,  and  is  in  the  midst  of 
Jerusalem,  the  King  of  kings,  and  Lord  of  lords. 

Then  we  get  verses  16-20 : 

A  magnificent  state  of  millennial  rest  and  glory  conse- 
quent on  the  Coming  of  the  Lord  and  the  overthrow  of 
the  Antichrist. 

Listen  to  it : 

"  In  that  day  it  shall  be  said  to  Jerusalem,  Fear  thou 
not ;  and  to  Zion,  Let  not  thine  hands  be  slack. 

The  Lord  thy  God  in  the  midst  of  thee  is  mighty;  he 
will  save,  he  will  rejoice  over  thee  with  joy;  he  will  rest 
in  his  love ;  he  will  joy  over  thee  with  singing.     .     .     . 

Behold,  at  that  time  I  will  undo  all  that  afflict  thee; 
and  I  will  save  her  that  halteth,  and  gather  her  that  was 
driven  out ;  and  I  will  get  them  praise  and  fame  in  every 
land  where  they  have  been  put  to  shame. 

At  that  time  will  I  bring  you  again,  even  in  the  time 
that  I  gather  you:  for  I  will  make  you  a  name  and  a 
praise  among  all  people  of  the  earth,  when  I  turn  back 
your  captivity  before  your  eyes,  saith  the  Lord." 

We  turn  to  Zechariah. 

We  take  up  the  twelfth  chapter. 

We  learn : 

I.  A  time  is  coming  when  the  nations  (the  ten)  shall 
be  gathered  against  Jerusalem, 


220  THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST 

2.  In  that  day  the  Lord  shall  defend  the  inhabitants 
of  Jerusalem. 

3.  He  will  deliver  Judah  first. 

4.  He  will  make  the  house  of  David  as  God,  as  the 
angel  of  the  Lord  to  their  enemies. 

But  how  will  He  do  this  ? 

We  get  the  answer  in  verse  10. 

"  They  shall  look  upon  me  whom  they  have  pierced." 

The  Apostle  John  annotates  this  expression  and  gives 
It  location: 

Hear  his  annotation : 

"  Behold,  he  cometh  with  clouds,  and  every  eye  shall 
see  him,  and  they  also  which  pierced  him :  and  all  the 
kindreds  of  the  earth  [literally,  all  the  tribes  of  that  land] 
shall  wail  because  of  him."    Revelation  i :  7. 

Now  turn  back  to  Zechariah  and  read  the  rest  of  the 
tenth  verse : 

"  And  they  shall  mourn  for  him  as  one  mourneth  for 
his  only  son,  and  shall  be  in  bitterness  for  him,  as  one  that 
is  in  bitterness  for  his  first  born." 

"  And  one  shall  say  unto  him,  What  are  these  wounds 
in  thine  hands  ?  Then  shall  he  answer.  Those  with  which 
I  was  wounded  in  the  house  of  my  friends."  Chapter 
13 :6. 

Clearly — the  deliverance  of  Israel — their  repentance, 
and  the  setting  up  the  kingdom — are  all  brought  about 
by  the  Coming  of  the  Lord  in  judgment. 

Examine  the  fourteenth  chapter. 

"  Behold  the  day  of  the  Lord  cometh,  and  thy  spoil  shall 
be  divided  in  the  midst  of  thee. 

For  I  will  gather  all  nations  [the  ten]  against  Jerusa- 
lem to  battle ;  and  the  city  shall  be  taken,  and  the  houses 
rified,  and  the  women  ravished ;  and  half  of  the  city  shall 


INTRODUCTION  OF  THE  KINGDOM     221 

go  forth  into  captivity,  and  the  residue  of  the  people  shall 
not  be  cut  off  from  the  city. 

Then  shall  the  Lord  go  forth,  and  fight  against  those 
nations,  as  when  he  fought  In  the  day  of  battle. 

And  his  feet  shall  stand  In  that  day  upon  the  mount  of 
Olives,  which  Is  before  Jerusalem  on  the  east,  and  the 
mount  of  Olives  shall  cleave  In  the  midst  thereof  towards 
the  east  and  towards  the  west,  and  there  shall  be  a  very 
great  valley ;  and  half  of  the  mountain  shall  remove 
toward  the  north,  and  half  of  It  toward  the  south. 

And  ye  shall  flee  to  the  valley  of  the  mountains ;  for  the 
valley  of  the  mountains  shall  reach  unto  Azal ;  yea,  ye 
shall  flee,  like  as  ye  fled  from  before  the  earthquake  In 
the  days  of  Uzzlah  king  of  Judah ;  and  the  Lord  my  God 
shall  come,  and  all  the  saints  with  thee."  vs.  1-5. 

Here  the  prophet  teaches : 

1.  The  day  of  the  Lord  is  coming. 

2.  In  that  day  Jerusalem  will  be  in  a  state  of  siege  by 
the  ten  nations  of  the  Antichrist.  The  Lord  will  come 
with  all  His  saints. 

3.  He  will  fight  against  those  nations. 

4.  He  will  stand  on  the  Mount  of  Olives. 

5.  The  mount  of  Olives  will  be  opened  as  a  way  of 
escape  for  the  faithful  shut  up  In  the  city. 

And  now  behold  the  final  result  of  this  glorious 
Coming : 

"  And  the  Lord  shall  be  King  over  all  the  earth :  in  that 
day  shall  there  be  one  Lord,  and  his  name  one."  v.  9. 

All  this  would  seem  to  be  clear  enough ;  clear  that  the 
kingdom  and  glory  in  Israel  and  thus  the  kingdom  and 
glory  throughout  the  whole  earth  is  to  be  established  by 
the  Coming  of  the  Lord  in  judgment;  but  the  prophet 
amplifies  his  testimony  to  this  effect. 


222  THE   COMING    OF   CHRIST 

He  says : 

"  And  this  shall  be  the  plague  wherewith  the  Lord  will 
smite  all  the  people  that  have  fought  against  Jerusalem; 
their  flesh  shall  consume  away  while  they  stand  upon 
their  feet,  and  their  eyes  shall  consume  away  in  their 
holes,  and  their  tongue  shall  consume  away  in  their 
mouth."  V.  12. 

No  such  terrible  judgment  ever  fell  on  the  Roman 
armies  under  Titus,  in  the  siege  of  Jerusalem  centuries 
ago. 

The  time  is  future. 

"  In  that  day  a  great  tumult  from  the  Lord  shall  be 
among  them." 

What  day? 

The  day  when  the  Lord  shall  come  with  all  His  saints 
and  stand  on  the  mount  of  Olives;  the  day  when  by  a 
mighty  earthquake  the  mountain  shall  be  riven  asunder 
and  a  way  of  escape  made  for  His  elect. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  about  it !  It  is  judgment  from 
the  presence  of  the  Lord  at  His  Coming. 

Judgment !  judgment,  swift,  terrible ! 

Read  what  follows : 

"  In  that  day  shall  there  be  upon  the  bells  of  the  horses, 
Holiness  unto  the  Lord;  and  the  pots  in  the  Lord's 
house  shall  be  like  the  bowls  before  the  altar. 

Yea,  every  pot  in  Jerusalem,  and  in  Judah,  shall  be 
holiness  unto  the  Lord  of  hosts."  vs.  20,  21. 

The  Coming  of  the  Lord. 

Judgment. 

The  setting  up  of  the  kingdom  of  righteousness  and 
holiness. 

The  days  of  millennial  splendor. 


INTRODUCTION  OF  THE  KINGDOM     223 

This  is  the  order,  the  divine  order  according  to  the 
testimony  of  Zechariah. 

Let  us  hear  the  last  witness  of  the  Scriptures  of  Israel. 

Hear  the  voice  of  the  last  prophet  before  the  long 
silence  rolls  in,  the  silence  that  is  to  be  broken  by  the 
song  of  the  angels  on  the  starry  night  of  the  First  Advent. 

"  Who  may  abide  the  day  of  his  coming  ?  and  who  shall 
stand  when  he  appeareth."    Malachi  3  :  2. 

"  And  I  will  come  near  you  in  judgment."  v.  5. 

He  says : 

1.  The  Lord  is  coming. 

2.  He  is  coming  in  judgment. 

3.  The  judgment  at  His  Coming  is  so  terrible  that  it 
raises  the  question :  "  Who  may  abide  ?  " 

"  For,  behold,  the  day  cometh,  that  shall  burn  as  an 
oven;  and  all  the  proud,  yea,  and  all  that  do  wickedly, 
shall  be  stubble ;  and  the  day  that  cometh  shall  burn  them 
up,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  that  it  shall  leave  them  neither 
root  nor  branch. 

But  unto  you  that  fear  my  name  shall  the  Sun  of  right- 
eousness arise  with  healing  in  his  wings ;  and  ye  shall  go 
forth  and  grow  up  as  calves  of  the  stall.  And  ye  shall 
tread  down  the  wicked ;  for  they  shall  be  ashes  under  the 
soles  of  your  feet  in  the  day  that  I  shall  do  this,  saith  the 
Lord  of  hosts." 

The  statements  are  clear ;  they  are  easily  read :  i 

1.  The  Lord  is  coming. 

2.  He  is  coming  in  wrathful  judgment. 

3.  He  is  coming  to  deliver  those  who  fear  His  name. 

4.  They  shall  be  His  jewels  and  He  will  spare  them  as 
a  man  spareth  his  own  son  that  serveth  him.    Chapter  3 117. 

Thus  the  prophet  teaches  that  the  glory  of  Israel,  and 


224  THE   COMING   OF   CHRIST 

therefore  the  glory  of  the  whole  earth,  Is  to  be  Introduced 
by  the  personal  Coming  of  the  Lord  in  judgment. 

Thus  we  have  gone  through  the  Old  Testament. 

We  have  examined  all  that  has  been  said  directly  about 
the  kingdom,  about  the  millennium. 

And,  although  we  have  examined  the  testimony  of 
Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  Daniel,  Joel,  Amos,  Obadiah,  Habakkuk, 
Zephaniah,  Zechariah  and  Malachi,  ten  prophets  in  all, 
we  have  not  so  much  as  seen  the  word  "  Gospel  "  in  con- 
nection with  the  coming  of  the  kingdom ;  not  a  line,  not  a 
thought  that  would  lead  us  to  imagine  that  the  millennium 
would  be  introduced  through  the  quiet  and  persuasive 
Influence  of  that  Gospel,  but  always  by  the  personal 
Coming  of  the  Lord  and  associated  judgment. 

Again  and  again  we  have  asked  the  question  as  to  the 
method  by  which  the  kingdom  and  glory  are  to  be 
introduced. 

We  have  asked  this  question  of  the  New  Testament  as 
well  as  of  the  Old.    We  have  asked  it  of  our  Lord. 

And  although  we  have  studied  His  word  and  the  word 
of  His  Apostles,  we  have  not  found  so  much  as  a  hint 
that  there  would  be  a  millennium  before. the  return  of 
the  Lord  Himself. 

On  the  contrary,  from  Matthew  to  Revelation,  from 
Jesus  to  John,  from  Isaiah  to  Malachi,  we  have  found  in 
positive  statement,  in  symbols,  in  figures,  in  types  and  in 
resplendent  prophecy  that  there  would  be  no  millennium, 
that  there  could  be  no  millennium  till  Jesus,  our  Lord 
should  come,  and  that  therefore,  the  Coming  of  the  Lord 
would  be,  must  be,  and  is  pre-millennial;  that  over  all 
the  pathway  leading  to  the  kingdom  is  written  in  letters  of 
living  light,  written  in  the  glare  of  the  lightnings,  in  the 
accent  of  the  thunders,  in  the  roar  of  the  seas,  in  the 


INTRODUCTION  OF  THE  KINGDOM     225 

tread  of  armies,  in  plague  and  pestilence,  in  the  awful 
figure  of  the  Antichrist,  in  the  flaming  eyes  of  a  descend- 
ing Christ,  the  one  terrible,  unspeakable  word,  judgment. 
Judgment!  not  the  gospel;  the  wrath  of  God,  not  the 
peace  of  God ;  these  are  the  wide,  terrible  gates  of  brass 
through  which  the  kingdom  and  the  glad  millennial  day 
are  introduced. 


RECALLING  THE  WITNESSES 


"  IN  THE  MOUTH  OF  TWO  OR  THREE  WITNESSES 
SHALL  EVERY  WORD  BE  ESTABLISHED'."— 2  Corin- 
thians  13:1. 


CHAPTER   XV 

]  Kecallins  tfte  mitnts$t» 

At  the  risk  of  repetition  let  us  recall  the  witnesses  and 
hear  their  testimony  in  sum. 

The  Ratio  of  the  Gospel. 

The  Son  of  God. 

He  says  that  during  His  absence  the  Gospel,  the  Word, 
the  Seed,  will  obtain  only  a  fractional  reception. 

It  will  be  opposed  by  the  world,  the  flesh  and  the  Devil 
to  the  end. 
James,  the  Apostle. 

He  says  the  Lord  in  this  dispensation  is  "  taking  out  "  a 
people  for  His  name. 

Taking  out  is  selection,  it  is  election. 

This  dispensation  therefore  is  a  time  of  election,  not 
universal  reception. 

While  the  call  is  universal.  His  sheep  only  hear  His 
voice. 

While  the  hindrance  on  the  one  side  and  the  wilful 
rejection  of  the  Gospel  on  the  other  give  the  appearance 
of  failure,  it  is  only  apparent :  the  purpose  of  God  which 
He  purposed  from  the  beginning,  to  "take  out "  a  people, 
has  never  slacked  a  moment. 

God's  forewisdom  has  anticipated  the  hindrance  of  the 
Devil,  the  temptation  of  the  world,  and  the  unbelief  of  the 
flesh,  and  the  fractional  reception  of  His  message  has  not 
taken  Him  by  surprise. 

229 


230  THE    COMING    OF    CHRIST 

Development  of  the  Professing  Church. 
The  Son  of  God, 

Our  Lord  testifies  that  while  men  sleep  the  Devil  will 
introduce  tares  among  the  wheat  and  thus  mix  the  pro- 
fession of  Christ  in  the  world. 

This  mixed  profession  will  grow,  expand,  and  send 
out  its  branches  in  all  the  world. 

Its  growth  and  expansion  will  be  in  exact  proportion 
as  it  roots  itself  in  the  world. 

Having  succeeded  in  imitating  the  church  of  Christ 
in  the  world,  having  corrupted  the  actual  profession  of 
Christ,  the  Devil  himself  will  enter  in  and  find  satisfactory 
shelter  there. 

This  expanded  and  mixed  profession  of  Christ  will  be- 
come thoroughly  permeated  with  false  doctrine  and  the 
energy  of  the  flesh. 

Starting  out  to  meet  a  Coming  Lord,  the  Church  will 
grow  tired,  give  up  the  "  Hope  "  and  fall  asleep  in  the 
spiritual  night  of  the  world. 

When  He  arises  to  come  forth  He  will  look  out  upon 
the  earth  and  ask  the  question  which  can  have  only  one 
answer,  and  that  a  negative :    "  When  the  Son  of  man 
cometh,  shall  He  find  faith  on  the  earth  ?  " 
Paul,  the  Apostle. 

False  teachers  will  arise,  if  the  Lord  tarries,  and  the 
church  will  be  divided  into  sects  (denominations). 

There  will  be  a  great  apostasy,  a  general  down  grade. 

Men  will  have  a  form  of  godliness  but  will  deny  the 
power  thereof. 

The  professing  church  will  not  endure  sound  doctrine, 
but  will  seek  teachers  who  shall  minister  to  the  pride  and 
the  lusts  of  the  flesh. 

The  Devil  will  transform  himself  into  an  angel  of  light 


RECALLING   THE    WITNESSES  231 

and  his  ministers  into  ministers  of  righteousness.    Right- 
eousness   of    individual    character    and    works    will    be 
preached,  and  not  the  righteousness  of  the  blood. 
James,  the  Apostle. 

The  church  will  turn  aside  from  the  simplicity  of  that 
brotherhood  in  which  all  are  one,  and  will  recognize 
in  the  assembly  the  distinctions  of  "  good  apparel," 
"  wealth,"  "  persons  of  men  "  and  turn  aside  from  the 
poor. 

It  will  forget  the  power  of  the  Spirit  and  bow  down  to 
the  power  of  money. 
Peter,  the  Apostle, 

The  professing  church  will  be  full  of  mockers,  walking 
after  the  flesh  and  denying  the  imminency  of  the  Lord's 
Coming. 
John,  the  Beloved  Apostle, 

The  church  will  depart  from  first  love,  yield  to  the 
Jewish  thought  of  a  kingdom  on  earth,  form  a  union  with 
the  state,  become  paganized  as  well  as  judaized,  usurp 
the  headship  of  Christ,  grow  rich  in  the  world's  wealth, 
poor  in  the  wealth  of  heaven,  and  be  spewed  out  and  re- 
pudiated at  the  last  by  the  Son  of  God  Himself.  After 
its  repudiation  by  Him  it  will  be  taken  up  by  Antichrist 
as  his  guilty  and  filthy  paramour,  finally  repudiated  even 
by  him  and  trampled  in  the  mire  beneath  the  feet  of  his 
associated  kings. 

The  Course  of  This  Age. 

Testimony  of  the  Son  of  God. 

As  it  was  in  the  days  of  Noah,  as  it  was  in  the  days  of 
Lot,  so  shall  it  be  at  the  end  of  this  age. 
Paul. 

At  the  end  of  the  age  Antichrist,  the  Lawless  one,  ex- 


232  THE    COMING    OF    CHRIST 

alted  to  the  rule  and  headship  of  the  world;  the  world 
accepting  the  Devil's  son  rather  than  the  Son  of  God. 
Peter. 

The  age  ending  in  mockery  and  materialism. 
James. 

Great  wealth  in  the  hands  of  the  few.  Poverty  and 
misery  among  the  masses.  The  cry  of  oppression  going 
up  into  the  ears  of  God. 

Rich  men  suffering  on  account  of  the  wealth  which 
they  have  unjustly  heaped  together  for  "  the  last  times." 
Jude. 

A  world  full  of  ungodly  sinners,  lips  breathing  ungodly 
speeches,  and  lives  expressing  ungodly  deeds. 
John. 

A  world  led  by  a  wild  beast  king  and  a  false  prophet, 
denying  God  the  Father  and  the  Son. 

Antichrist  in  mad  rebellion  against  the  God  of  the 
Bible. 

Antichristianity  instead  of  Christianity. 

The  Introduction  of  the  Kingdom. 

The  Son  of  God. 

Wheat  and  tares  separated.  The  tares  cast  into  the 
fire.  The  kingdom  seen  through  the  gates  of  a  furnace. 
The  dragnet  of  the  great  profession  brought  to  the  shore, 
the  good  taken  out  and  put  into  vessels,  the  bad  cast 
away;  then  the  kingdom  seen  through  the  fiery  gates  of 
judgment.  The  sheep  and  goats  separated  one  from  an- 
other and  the  kingdom  brought  in  by  judgment.  The 
Nobleman  rewarding  his  own  and  calling  for  a  sword  on 
his  enemies,  the  enemies  who  had  previously  cried  out  that 
they  would  not  have  this  man  to  reign  over  them ;  then, 
after  the  judgment,  the  kingdom  established. 


RECALLING   THE    WITNESSES  233 

Paul. 

The  Son  of  God  coming  in  flaming  fire  to  overthrow 
the  man  of  sin  and  set  up  the  righteous  kingdom  of 
God. 
James. 

The  judge  standing  before  the  door.  Judgment  the 
threshold  over  which  the  King  passes  into  His  Kingdom. 
Peter.  ^ 

The  heavens  in  flames,  the  earth  melting  in  judgment, 
then  the  kingdom. 
Jude. 

The  Lord  and  ten  thousands  of  His  holy  ones  coming 
to  clear  the  ungodly  out  of  the  earth  and  set  up  the  long 
looked  for  kingdom. 
John. 

The  face  of  a  lamb  filled  with  wrath.  The  sounding 
of  trumpets.  Vials  of  wrath  poured  out  on  the  earth. 
Woes,  scourges,  plagues,  pestilence,  armies  marching  on 
the  earth  and,  at  the  last,  the  Son  of  God  Himself  at  the 
head  of  armies  of  Heaven  coming  to  overthrow  the  armies 
of  earth.  The  Lamb  turned  into  an  avenging  King  with 
eyes  of  flame,  voice  of  wrath,  sceptre  of  iron  and  hand 
lifted  to  smite,  and  then  the  kingdom. 
The  Prophets. 

A  time  coming  when  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord  shall 
cover  the  earth  as  waters  the  face  of  the  deep;  a  time 
when  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  shall  learn  right- 
eousness; a  time  when  war  will  be  forgotten  and  peace 
shall  flow  like  a  waveless  river;  a  time  when  the  reign 
of  God,  the  Lord,  will  be  undisputed,  and  when  the 
Word  of  the  Lord  will  go  forth  from  Jerusalem  unto  the 
ends  of  the  earth ;  a  time  when  all  the  promises  concerning 
the  covenant  kingdom  and  the  covenant  people  will  be 


234  'THE   COMING    OF   CHRIST 

fulfilled  to  the  letter,  and  the  whole  earth  break  forth  into 
joy  and  singing. 

This  time  of  gladness  and  infinite  delight  introduced 
under  parting  skies  and  trembling  earth,  the  sea  and  the 
waves  roaring  madly,  men's  hearts  failing  them  for  fear, 
and  the  very  globe  rocking  and  reeling  like  a  drunken 
man,  like  a  frail  cottage  in  the  storm. 

The  kingdom  introduced  by  the  Lord  and  associated 
judgments;  this  is  the  unvarying  testimony  of  the 
prophets. 

The  Attitude  of  the  Church. 

The  Son  of  God. 

Coming  in  an  hour  that  no  man  knoweth,  no  man  on 
earth,  not  an  angel  in  heaven,  nay,  not  the  Son  of  man 
Himself.    "  What  I  say  unto  one  I  say  unto  all,  Watch." 
"  Be  ye  ready !  " 
Paul. 

"  I  pray  God  your  whole  spirit  and  soul  and  body  be 
preserved  blameless  unto  the  Coming  of  the  Lord."     i 
Thessalonians  5 :  23. 
James. 

"  The  coming  of  the  Lord  draweth  nigh.'' 
John. 

The  Lord  coming  like  a  "  thief  "  in  the  night ;  exhorts 
the  church  to  watch. 

The  meaning  of  this  attitude : 

The  coming  of  Christ  is  imminent. 


SUMMING   UP 


"  NOW  OF  THE  THINGS  WHICH  WE  HAVE  SPOKEN 
THIS   IS  THE  SUM."— Hebrews  8:i. 


CHAPTER   XVI 

Summing  CHp 

Let  us  sum  up. 

A  Gospel  not  universally  received. 

A  Church  corrupted  by  Satan,  indwelt  by  him,  repudi- 
ated by  Christ,  the  Lord,  and  trampled  on  at  last  by  the 
Devil  himself. 

A  world  going  on  to  lawlessness,  accepting  an  Anti- 
christ, rejecting  the  God  revealed  in  nature,  and  His  Son 
revealed  in  the  Bible. 

The  closing  hours  of  the  age  filled  with  terrific  judg- 
ments from  Heaven  and  the  Son  of  God  coming  in 
flaming  fire,  in  wrath  and  anger,  to  smite  the  earth. 

The  Church,  the  real  and  the  true,  the  first  born  from 
the  dead,  exhorted  to  be  in  the  attitude  of  constant 
expectation  for  the  return  of  the  Lord — in  person. 

This  is  the  sum  of  what  we  have  found  in  Holy  Scrip- 
ture concerning  the  Second  Coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ. 

Instead  of  asking  the  question,  "  Is  the  Coming  of  the 
Lord  before  or  after  the  Millennium  ?  "  we  might  better 
ask  why  such  a  question  was  ever  necessary  with  an  open 
Bible  ?  How  is  it  possible  that  any  intelligent  student  of 
the  Word  could  be  in  doubt  about  it;  how  could  any 
student  ever  think,  even  for  a  moment  that  there  was  such 
a  thing  as  Post-Millennialism  ? 

So  far  as  Scripture  goes  there  is  but  one  thought  from 
end  to  end  in  the  matter.  The  Lord  is  coming,  and  in 
spite  of  the  apparent  failure  of  the  Gospel ;  in  spite  of  the 
seeming  failure  of  the  Church,  and  the  growing  wicked- 
ness, infidelity  and  lawlessness  in  the  world.  He  will  set  up 

237 


238  THE   COMING    OF   CHRIST 

His  promised  kingdom,  and  for  at  least  a  thousand  years, 
bless  the  world  with  the  administration  of  a  government 
on  the  principles  of  Heaven. 

But  if  we  are  put  to  it  to  answer  the  question,  then 
we  answer  it: 

The  Coming  of  the  Lord  is  Pre-Millennial ;  it  cannot 
be  otherwise. 

There  can  be  no  millennium  till  He  comes. 

So  far  we  have  refrained  from  an  actual  appeal  to  his- 
tory, or  condition  and  circumstances  of  the  times,  but 
we  may  do  so  now. 

Let  him  who  believes  that  the  world  is  to  be  converted 
by  the  Gospel  and  then  to  continue  a  spiritual  kingdom 
of  Christ  for  a  thousand  years,  stand  here  in  this  begin- 
ning of  the  Twentieth  century  of  preaching  and  own  the 
fact,  that,  at  this  hour,  but  a  fraction  of  the  human  race 
accept  the  Gospel,  and  of  that  fraction,  but  a  fraction 
who  live  within  the  law  of  its  demands;  let  such  persons 
to  whom  the  thought  of  a  millennium,  a  spiritual  millen- 
nium, before  the  Coming  of  the  Lord  is  dear,  and  who 
regard  with  horror  any  doctrine  which  seems  to  mini- 
mize the  power  and  efficacy  of  the  Gospel,  look  at  the  ac- 
tual history  of  the  church  in  the  world,  at  the  history 
which  is  written  in  the  book  of  the  New  Testament;  a 
history  whose  pages  are  full  of  the  story  of  sects  and  di- 
visions, failures  and  sins,  of  the  shipwreck  of  faith  and 
open  apostasy.  Let  them  read  the  history  written  by 
other  hands  than  those  of  the  Apostles :  let  them  read  of 
the  times  when  professed  Christians  slew  each  other  for 
difference  of  doctrine ;  of  that  time  when  the  church  had 
departed  from  the  simplicity  of  the  Apostolic  days,  from 
the  Pastor  and  the  Deacon,  from  the  officers  as  Christ  ap- 
pointed them,  from  the  plain  assembly  roorti  and  table  of 


SUMMING  UP  239 

the  Breaking  of  Bread,  to  the  time  when  the  church  had 
become  a  monarchy,  an  empire  in  the  world,  holding 
councils  with  kings,  raising  armies  and  making  wars ;  to 
that  time  when  her  buildings  were  temples,  the  homes  of 
her  officers  palaces,  and  her  treasury  filled  with  the  gath- 
ered wealth  of  a  suppliant  world. 

Let  such  an  one  who  cares,  look  at  the  simple  pastor 
become  an  Archbishop,  and  the  Bishop  a  Cardinal,  the 
Cardinal  a  Pope,  and  the  Pope,  a  veritable  God  on  earth 
worshiped  by  men. 

Let  him  look  at  that  dark  hour  when  the  historic 
Church  in  the  world  had  buried  learning  and  spirituality 
out  of  sight ;  that  hour  when  the  church  was  a  name  and 
symbol  of  terror;  when  she  murdered,  burned  and  tor- 
tured; that  hour  when  she  seemed  to  have  become  the 
cage  of  every  unclean  bird  and  the  hold  of  every  foul 
spirit,  the  habitation  of  demons ;  when  her  priests  were  the 
priests,  not  of  holiness  and  truth,  but  of  unspeakable  sin 
and  shame,  while  the  blood  of  the  martyrs  of  Jesus  stained 
all  her  garments;  and  when  the  harlotry  and  filthiness 
of  her  Hfe  rose  up  as  a  stench  before  God  and  men. 

Let  him  pass  from  Popery  to  Protestantism  and  re- 
member that  only  within  a  century  has  the  Protestant 
church  thought  at  all  of  seeking  to  preach  the  Gospel  to 
every  creature.  Let  him  look  at  Protestantism  with  its 
hundreds  of  denominations,  its  sects,  divisions  and  con- 
troversies ;  let  him  watch  the  craze  of  the  hour  in  Protest- 
antism, the  effort  to  organize  the  church  itself  out  of  ex- 
istence by  the  number  and  character  of  the  organizations 
within  it ;  let  him  examine  the  whole  trend  of  the  church 
to-day,  and  he  will  find  it,  either  given  over  to  the  spirit  of 
pleasure,  indifferent  to  the  ways  of  God,  cold,  lifeless; 
or,  in  its  activities,  calling  on  all  the  energy  of  the  flesh, 


240  THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST 

leaving  the  ground  of  the  divine  and  supernatural,  and 
going  down  to  the  lowland  and  level  of  the  wholly  nat- 
ural; churches  turned  into  clubs  and  debating  societies, 
into  social  assemblies  and  entertainment  bureaus ;  the  doc- 
trine of  regeneration  set  aside  and  reformation  exalted; 
the  salvation  of  the  individual  made  secondary  to  the  sal- 
vation of  society ;  the  blood  of  sacrifice  repudiated  as  the 
ground  of  approach  to  God,  and  character  set  up  in  its 
stead ;  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  brought  in  and  the  ser- 
mon from  the  cross  shut  out ;  the  Golden  Rule,  instead  of 
the  Gospel  of  Death  and  Resurrection,  made  the  common 
ground  of  meeting  of  all  men  of  differing  "  views  " ;  the 
resurrection  of  the  body  denied  and  the  personal  Coming 
of  Christ  considered  as  an  exploded  fantasy ;  the  Old  Tes- 
tament looked  upon  as  worthless  in  history,  and  not  al- 
ways valuable  in  morals;  Moses  recognized  as  a  literary 
fiction,  the  Patriarchs  as  having  no  better  foundation ;  the 
story  of  creation  and  the  fall  of  man  accepted  as  poor 
plagiarisms  from  Babylonish  legends  and  folk-lore; 
Heaven  the  dream  of  blind  enthusiasts  or  neurasthenics ; 
the  hereafter  a  matter  of  absolute  speculation,  Jesus 
Himself  only  an  illuminated  specialist  in  that  direction, 
the  highest  wisdom  an  assertative  ignorance  concerning 
it,  he  being  wisest  of  the  wise  who  daily  sowing  doubts 
in  the  mind  of  the  new  coming  generation  of  preachers, 
can  say  with  serenity  on  the  threshold  of  the  grave :  "  I 
do  not  know  where  I  am  going,"  and  saying  it,  receive 
the  plaudit  of  a  church  which  owns  his  confession  as 
their  own  status. 

Let  this  millennial  dreamer  look  at  the  world,  the  world 
that  through  all  centuries  has  been  the  slaughter  house  of 
the  good  and  true,  the  world  that  has  always  led  right  to 
the  scaffold  and  wrong  to  the  throne,  let  such  an  one  look 


SUMMING  UP  241 

at  the  world  to-day,  see  the  distress  in  nations,  the  per- 
plexity, the  unrest,  the  fear ;  let  him  face  the  fact  that  at 
this  moment,  as  never  before  in  all  her  history,  the  world 
is  preparing  for  war ;  that  factories  are  working  night  and 
day  to  turn  out  the  implements  of  destruction ;  that  after 
two  thousand  years  of  Gospel,  two  thousand  years  since 
the  angel  song,  "  Peace  and  good  will,"  floated  over  the 
earth,  two  of  the  foremost  nations,  practically  out 
of  sheer  exhaustion  or  the  fear  of  it,  have  ceased  their 
strife  of  months  of  the  bloodiest  military  murder  and 
butchery ;  let  him  face  the  fact  that  in  the  United  States 
within  a  decade  nearly  a  hundred  thousand  murders  have 
been  committed  under  the  shadow  of  church  steeples  and 
within  the  sound  of  Gospel  hymns ;  let  him  face  the  fact 
that  the  age  in  which  we  live  is  rushing  on  with  the  hur- 
rying step  of  money  madness,  building  round  the  soul  of 
the  rising  generation  the  thick  wall  of  materialism,  re- 
jecting the  Bible,  rejecting  all  promises  of  a  future  and 
proclaiming  that  the  life  that  now  is  is  the  only  life  that 
should  appeal  to,  or  inspire  intelligent  men;  let  him  face 
the  fact  that  everywhere  there  is  a  revolt  against  authority 
among  the  masses,  as  one  of  the  red  flag  societies  placed 
upon  its  banner  in  a  public  procession :  "  No  Boss  Below, 
No  Boss  Above." 

Let  the  man  who  dreams  or  has  been  taught  to  dream 
that  we  are  marching  to  the  purple  and  the  gold  of  mil- 
lennial days  through  the  gradual  betterment  of  society, 
the  advance  of  the  church  to  higher  spiritual  grounds, 
look  at  this  world,  at  the  cold  facts  which  honest  ex- 
amination reveals,  and  then  say  whether  he  can  consci- 
entiously and  honestly  believe  that  we  have  any  evidence 
of  a  millennium  to-day,  or  any  prospect  of  it  by  Gospel 
preaching. 


242  THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST 

Nay !  no  man  who  studies  the  Word  of  God  outside  of 
trained  prejudices;  no  man  who  looks  at  the  world  and 
the  facts  within  it  to-day,  can  make  any  such  mistake. 

Post-Millennialism  fades  away  as  a  foolish  dream, 
without  foundation  in  the  Word  of  God,  and  without  so 
much  as  the  shadow  of  the  shadow  of  a  foundation  in  the 
condition  of  the  times. 


THE    SCENIC   PROPHECY 
Or,  The  Whole  Argument  in  a  Picture 


"AND  I  SAW  HEAVEN  OPENED,  AND  BEHOLD,  A 
WHITE  HORSE:  AND  HE  THAT  SAT  UPON  HIM."— 
Revelation  19:11. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

Cl)e  Scenic  Ptopfiecg; 

or,  The  Whole  Argument  in  a  Picture. 

In  the  book  of  the  Revelation,  in  the  nineteenth  chapter, 
there  is  a  great  picture. 

The  Spirit  has  painted  it. 

It  is  the  vision  of  the  Second  Advent. 

It  is  the  story  of  the  Lord's  Coming  told  in  colors. 

It  is  the  great  Doctrine  and  some  of  its  related  truths 
in  figured  action. 

The  very  position  which  this  picture  holds,  is  of  itself, 
profoundly  suggestive.  It  comes  in  after  the  vision  of  the 
seven  churches,  after  the  record  of  a  fallen  and  repudi- 
ated profession,  after  the  breaking  of  the  seals  and  the 
hardening  judgments,  after  the  trumpets  and  the  terrific 
soundings,  after  the  pouring  forth  of  the  vials,  after  the 
confusion  and  the  anguish  on  the  earth,  after  the  exalta- 
tion and  impious  course  of  the  Beast,  after  the  vision  of 
the  Scarlet  woman,  the  revelation  of  her  uncleanness  and 
wickedness.  In  short,  we  are  led  up  to  the  Second  Com- 
ing of  Christ,  not  through  the  songs  of  chanting  choirs, 
hymning  the  praise  of  an  accepted  Lord,  but  through 
trembling  heavens  and  shivering  earth.  The  sun  and  the 
moon  are  confounded,  the  sea  and  the  waves  roar;  war, 
famine  and  pestilence  are  on  the  road,  vieing  with  each 
other  to  fill  the  land  with  terror.  Plagues  and  terrifying 
phenomena  rush  out  at  every  angle;  and  there  are  voices 
and  thunderings  and  lightnings  and  pillars  of  smoke.  The 
underworld  is  opened  and  the  spirits  of  the  dead  are 
stirred,  demons  possess  men  and  discordant  cries  from 

245 


^46  THE   COMING   OF   CHRIST 

both  men  and  demons  fill  the  air.  Honor  and  truth  perish 
or  flee  away  into  the  wilderness ;  wickedness  and  disobe- 
dience of  the  most  lurid  and  sulphurous  sort  scorch  the 
highways,  expanding  the  trail  of  the  Serpent  over  all 
things.  Blood  is  the  color  of  the  hour ;  everything  is  red, 
cardinal  red,  crimson,  gory,  terrible.  Judgment  is  heard 
in  the  heavens.  Judgment  on  the  earth.  Denial  of  God 
the  Father.  Denial  of  God  the  Son;  fear  and  the  pit 
yawning  as  the  mouth  of  a  beast  yawns. 

This  is  the  pathway  along  which  we  are  conducted  to 
that  moment  when  the  heavens  open  and  the  Son  of  God 
comes  forth  as  King  of  kings,  and  Lord  of  lords. 

It  is  indeed  suggestive. 

One  would  think  that  an  average  reader  passing  over 
such  a  mosaic  of  horrors,  through  such  an  atmosphere  of 
confusion  and  clamor,  amid  tempest  and  terror,  would  be 
the  last  person  in  the  world  to  emerge  into  the  light,  and 
then  proclaim,  that  before  the  Coming  of  the  Lord  the 
earth  would  be  at  rest  beneath  a  cloudless  sky  of  un- 
broken peace. 

The  very  fact  that  the  Spirit  of  God  has  set  this  vision 
of  the  Coming  Lord  after  all  the  turmoil,  panic,  pell-mell 
confusion  and  hell  let  loose  on  earth,  would  seem  to  be 
the  demonstration  of  demonstrations  that  there  can  be  no 
millennium  till  the  Lord  comes;  that  only  His  Coming 
can  clear  the  heavens  of  clouds  and  storms,  and  evacuate 
the  earth  of  the  Devil  and  his  confederates. 

But  the  Spirit  has  not  contented  Himself  with  simply 
saying  that  the  Coming  of  the  Lord  is  after  all  these 
things.  He  gives  a  Pre-Raphaelite  detail  of  that  Coming 
which  both  in  its  initial  and  closing  lines  sets  before  us 
the  truth  in  such  fashion  that  it  is  lifted  beyond  all  con- 
troversy or  question.    Let  us  read  the  description: 


THE  SCENIC  PROPHECY  247 

"  And  I  saw  heaven  opened,  and  behold,  a  white  horse ; 
and  he  that  sat  upon  him  was  called  Faithful  and  True, 
and  in  righteousness  he  doth  judge  and  make  war. 

His  eyes  were  as  a  flame  of  fire,  and  on  his  head  were 
many  crowns;  and  he  had  a  name  written,  that  no  man 
knew  but  he  himself. 

And  he  was  clothed  with  a  vesture  dipped  in  blood; 
and  his  name  is  called  the  Word  of  God. 

And  the  armies  which  were  in  heaven  followed  him 
upon  white  horses,  clothed  in  fine  linen,  white  and  clean. 

And  out  of  his  mouth  goeth  a  sharp  sword,  that  with  it 
he  should  smite  the  nations :  and  he  shall  rule  them  with  a 
rod  of  iron :  and  he  treadeth  the  winepress  of  the  fierce- 
ness and  wrath  of  Almighty  God. 

And  he  hath  on  his  vesture  and  on  his  thigh  a  name 
written,  King  of  kings^  and  Lord  of  lords. 

And  I  saw  an  angel  standing  in  the  sun ;  and  he  cried 
with  a  loud  voice,  saying  to  all  the  fowls  that  fly  in  the 
midst  of  heaven.  Come  and  gather  yourselves  together 
unto  the  supper  of  the  great  God ; 

That  ye  may  eat  the  flesh  of  kings,  and  the  flesh  of 
captains,  and  the  flesh  of  mighty  men,  and  the  flesh  of 
horses,  .and  of  them  that  sit  on  them,  and  the  flesh  of  all 
men,  both  free  and  bond,  both  small  and  great. 

And  I  saw  the  beast  and  the  kings  of  the  earth,  and 
their  armies,  gathered  together  to  make  war  against  him 
that  sat  on  the  horse,  and  against  his  army. 

And  the  beast  was  taken,  and  with  him  the  false  pro- 
phet that  wrought  miracles  before  him,  with  which  he 
deceived  them  that  had  received  the  mark  of  the  beast, 
and  them  that  worshiped  his  image.  These  were  both 
cast  alive  into  a  lake  of  fire  burning  with  brimstone. 

And  the  remnant  were  slain  with  the  sword  of  him  that 


248  THE   COMING    OF   CHRIST 

sat  upon  the  horse,  which  sword  proceeded  out  of  his 
mouth :  and  all  the  fowls  were  filled  with  their  flesh. 

And  I  saw  an  angel  come  down  from  heaven,  having 
the  key  of  the  bottomless  pit  and  a  great  chain  in  his 
hand. 

And  he  laid  hold  on  the  dragon,  that  old  serpent,  which 
is  the  devil,  and  Satan,  and  bound  him  a  thousand  years. 

And  cast  him  into  the  bottomless  pit,  and  shut  him  up, 
and  set  a  seal  upon  him,  that  he  should  deceive  the  na- 
tions no  more,  till  the  thousand  years  should  be  fulfilled : 
and  after  that  he  must  be  loosed  a  little  season. 

And  I  saw  thrones,  and  they  sat  upon  them,  and  judg- 
ment was  given  unto  them :  and  I  saw  the  souls  of  them 
that  were  beheaded  for  the  witness  of  Jesus,  and  for  the 
Word  of  God,  and  which  had  not  worshiped  the  beast, 
neither  his  image,  neither  had  received  his  mark  upon 
their  foreheads,  or  in  their  hands;  and  they  lived  and 
reigned  with  Jesus  a  thousand  years."  Revelation  19:  ii- 
21 ;  20: 1-4. 

Let  us  sit  down  before  this  picture  and  examine  it  in 
detail. 

I.     The  opened  heavens  and  the  emerging  Lord. 

The  last  full  view  we  had  of  this  Son  of  God  was  in 
the  fifth  chapter. 

There  we  were  introduced  to  a  court  scene.  The  Son 
of  God  was  represented  in  the  guise  of  a  lamb  bearing  the 
marks  of  a  death  which  he  had  suffered  and  survived ;  He 
is  seen  taking  out  of  the  hand  of  supreme  power  the  right 
and  title  to  come  forth  and  reign  as  the  Lord  and  God  of 
the  earth.  We  hear  the  redeemed  in  heaven,  redeemed 
by  His  blood,  singing  in  anticipation  of  that  moment  when 
they  shall  come  forth  with  Him  to  establish  the  kingdom ; 
for  they  sing:  "  We  shall  reign  on  [over]  the  earth." 


THE  SCENIC  PROPHECY  249 

From  the  fifth  chapter  till  the  nineteenth  we  have  had 
no  intimation  of  the  coming  forth  of  the  Lord  save  in  the 
angelic  anticipation  that  He  was  present  in  the  hardening 
judgments  and  about  to  be  revealed ;  during  all  the  time 
occupied  in  these  intervening  fourteen  chapters  His  place 
of  session  is  still  in  Heaven ;  He  has  not  yet  officially  left 
His  Father's  throne :  The  nineteenth  chapter  opens  with 
the  voice  of  much  people  in  Heaven,  saying,  "  Alleluia ; 
salvation  and  glory,  and  honor,  and  power,  unto  the  Lord 
our  God:  For  true  and  righteous  are  His  judgments." 

They  celebrate  the  execution  of  His  judgments  on  the 
earth,  judgments  which  have  culminated  in  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  great  false  profession  of  His  name. 

Standing  on  the  threshold  of  the  sixth  chapter  we  look 
forward  to  the  judgments  that  are  about  to  fall  on  the 
earth,  preparing  the  way  for  the  Coming  of  the  King ;  in 
the  nineteenth  chapter  we  look  back  and  hear  the  voices 
announcing  that  the  judgments  have  been  made  and  the 
way  has  been  cleared  for  the  final  coming  forth  of  Him 
whose  right  it  is  to  reign. 

The  marriage  of  Christ  and  His  church  is  now  an- 
nounced, the  marriage  supper  is  set  and  the  invitations 
sent  out. 

All  things  are  ready. 

The  King  is  about  to  make  His  appearance  in  company 
with  His  redeemed  and  glorified. 

If  we  glance  back  at  the  twenty-fifth  chapter  of  Mat- 
thew's Gospel  we  shall  find  that  our  Lord  is  there  repre- 
sented as  first  coming  to  the  marriage,  and  then  in  the 
closing  part  of  the  chapter  is  seen  as  the  Son  of  man  in 
glory  coming  to  judge  the  nations  and  set  up  His  king- 
dom. It  is  also  to  be  noted  that  when  the  nobleman  re- 
turned from  the  far  country  with  his  title  as  king  and  his 


250  THE   COMING    OF   CHRIST 

right  to  the  kingdom,  his  first  act  was  to  call  his  own 
about  him  and  deal  with  them ;  after  that  he  turned  his 
attention  to  his  enemies  and  set  up  the  kingdom ;  so  now, 
we  behold  the  marriage  and  the  bride  of  His  choice,  the 
Church,  gathered  with  Him  into  the  Heaven  above  all 
storm  and  judgment,  feasting  with  Him  at  the  marriage 
supper,  at  the  banquet  of  love.  As  at  every  banquet  given 
by  a  king  each  has  the  place  belonging  to  his  or  her  rank, 
necessarily  it  must  be  so  here;  thus  in  this  marriage 
scene  and  festal  board  we  have  the  moment  also  when  our 
Lord  as  the  Nobleman  shall  deal  with  His  own,  arrang- 
ing the  place  each  shall  hold  in  the  royal  economy  and 
kingdom  about  to  follow. 

And  now  Heaven  opens  and  the  King  comes  forth. 

Let  us  gaze  long  and  well  upon  the  portrait  given  here. 

He  comes  as  the  Faithful  and  True. 

The  one  who  has  stood  over  against  the  unfaithful 
and  false. 

As  a  Judge. 

Judgment  is  not  yet  over,  evil  has  not  yet  been  entirely 
eradicated,  the  world  is  not  yet  righteous ;  beside  all,  His 
reign  and  rule  is  to  be  a  reign  and  rule  of  judgment  a 
thousand  years  long;  the  "  day  "  of  judgment  is  measured 
not  by  years  but  by  ten  centuries ;  the  kingdom  is  a  king- 
dom of  judgment. 

He  comes  forth  as  a  Warrior. 

He  was  here  on  earth  as  the  Minister  of  peace.  For 
twenty  centuries  He  has  been  holding  out  the  olive  branch. 
For  twenty  centuries  there  have  been  no  thunderings  on 
His  throne ;  all  has  been  at  rest,  and  in  the  silence  He  has 
had  His  ear  open  to  hear  the  plaints  of  men ;  but  now  the 
era  of  peace  is  over,  it  is  the  moment  of  war,  and  as  "  the 
Man  of  War  "  He  goeth  forth  to  the  prey. 


THE  SCENIC  PROPHECY  251 

The  whole  figure  is  full  of  anticipated  conflict  and 
battle. 

His  eyes  are  as  a  -flame  of  iire. 

The  eyes  of  one  who  is  aroused  and  indignant,  in  whose 
veins  beats  the  pulse  of  a  hot  anger  and  wrath  so  fierce, 
that  the  flame  light  shines  from  eyes  once  filled  with  tears 
for  a  Lazarus,  and  once  moist  with  mercy  for  a  wander- 
ing world. 

A  flame  of  fire,  a  search  light  that  will  penetrate  to  the 
inmost  thought  and  intent  of  the  heart,  laying  bare  in  its 
awful  revelation  every  fibre  of  sin,  twisted  and  tightly 
wrought,  even  in  purposes  supposed  to  be  pure,  scorching, 
burning,  shriveling  every  hypocrisy,  and  withering  away 
every  breath  of  evil  desire.  Oh  the  eyes  of  the  pure !  how 
hot  and  burning  they  are,  in  their  very  innocency  going 
down  into  the  well  of  the  evil  soul  like  the  candle  of  the 
Lord  to  search  out  and  make  known  to  the  last  detail; 
but  these  eyes  of  the  Lord,  the  eyes  of  holiness,  the  eyes 
of  infinite  deity,  the  eyes  of  depthless  love  and  unques- 
tioning trust  for  those  who  trust  Him,  oh !  how  they  will 
burn,  and  scintillate,  and  flash  with  their  flame  of  sin- 
cerity, truth,  and  shadowless  righteousness.  Of  old, 
Simon  Peter  bending  amid  the  glittering  silver  of  heaped 
up  fishes  in  his  overladen  boat,  looked  up  in  His  face,  and 
caught  the  gleam  of  that  holiness  that  is  too  pure  to  tol- 
erate sin,  and  fell  down  all  of  a  heap  before  Him,  crying 
out  in  tones  whose  pathos  of  pain  and  honesty  reach  our 
ears  to-day :  "  Depart  from  me,  oh  Lord,  for  I  am  a  sinful 
man  " :  and  he  loved  that  Lord ;  but  in  that  hour  when 
these  eyes  shall  look  upon  those  who  are  sin,  and  only 
sin,  what  cries  of  agony  will  rise  to  meet  the  face  that 
gazes  upon  them,  its  very  calmness  like  the  unclouded 
sun?     No  wonder  that  with  one  accord  they  shall  cry 


252  THE   COMING   OF   CHRIST 

unto  the  rocks  to  fall  on  them,  and  the  mountains  to  hide 
them  from  His  face,  and  for  the  dens,  in  their  deep  and 
clammy  darkness,  to  shut  out  the  flaming  eyes. 

His  head  is  many  times  crowned. 

Once  it  was  crowned,  crowned  with  the  crown  men 
gave  Him  in  derision.  The  crown  which  penetrated  his 
sensitive  soul  with  the  thorns  of  human  unbelief  and 
mockery,  as  the  actual  thorns  penetrated  His  sensitive 
flesh  and  stained  Him  with  blood. 

And  now  He  lifts  Himself  up  and  comes  forth,  not  as 
the  Sufferer,  but  as  the  Conqueror ;  as  the  One  who  will 
rule  and  reign,  before  whom  every  knee  shall  bow  and 
every  tongue  confess  that  He  is  Lord,  to  the  glory  of  God 
the  Father. 

He  has  a  name  that  is  known  only  to  Himself, 

He  is  coming  forth  to  greet  the  world  with  a  cold  and 
terrible  reserve. 

He  did  come  as  the  revelation,  the  manifestation  of  the 
heart  of  God,  and  the  full  beauty  of  the  Truth,  inviting 
men  to  come  to  Him  that  they  might  be  enlightened. 

And  they  refused. 

He  was  despised  and  rejected  of  men. 

He  will  come  forth  holding  the  great  secret  that  men 
ought  to  have  known. 

He  will  guard  his  secret;  no  longer  will  He  reveal 
Himself  in  that  intimacy  of  love  and  blessing  which  He 
sought  to  give.  Love  at  the  first  throws  itself  open  with- 
out a  stint,  without  defense;  once  wounded,  it  draws 
itself  within  itself,  like  the  petals  of  a  bruised  rose ;  once 
rejected,  it  sets  a  seal  upon  its  inmost  pulse. 

He  comes  forth  as  one  who  no  longer  seeks  either 
friendship  or  love;  as  one  who  is  self  contained  in  His 
masterfulness  and  royal  in  His  independence  of  men. 


THE  SCENIC  PROPHECY  2SZ 

His  garments  are  dipped  in  blood. 

Not  the  first  time  is  it  that  His  raiment  has  been 
stained ;  once  it  was  crimson  with  the  flowing  of  His 
own  blood.  But  now,  alas!  the  blood  is  the  blood  of 
others. 

Once  He  was  lifted  up  that  men  might  shed  His  blood ; 
now  He  descends  that  He  may  shed  the  blood  of  men. 

He  is  called  the  Word  of  God. 

Through  all  the  centuries  He  has  been  announcing 
Himself  as  such  in  the  name  of  grace,  forbearance  and 
love;  as  the  Word  of  God  assuring  forgiveness  of  sin 
and  salvation  to  all  who  would  trust  Him  as  that  Word. 

Now  He  will  enunciate  His  Claim  by  terror  and  might. 
He  will  write  it  in  the  blood  of  His  foes. 

Out  of  His  mouth  goeth  a  sharp  sword. 

That  sword  is  His  word,  "  sharper  than  any  two  edged 
sword,  piercing  even  to  the  dividing  asunder  of  soul  and 
spirit,  and  of  the  joints  and  marrow,  and  is  a  discerner 
of  the  thoughts  and  intents  of  the  heart." 

He  has  sent  that  word  forth  that  it  might  slay  sin  in 
men,  and  bring  them  to  repentance  and  peace ;  that  word 
shall  go  forth  now,  not  to  bless,  but,  mark  it  well,  to 
smite. 

He  never  opened  His  mouth  on  earth  that  it  was  not 
for  blessing  and  benediction  to  men;  now  He  will  open 
it  to  curse  and  fulfill  the  words  of  the  prophet : 

"  Lest  I  come  and  smite  the  earth  with  a  curse."  Mal- 
achi  4:6. 

He  shall  rule  with  a  rod  of  iron. 

Coming  as  a  King  with  an  iron  sceptre. 

What  a  keen  mockery ! 

The  last  great  world  empire  was  the  empire  of  iron, 
Rome  and  her  iron  legions ;  the  final  form  of  rule  in  this 


254  THE    COMING    OF    CHRIST 

world  will  be  Roman,  the  empire  of  iron  will  be  revived 
with  its  ten  kings,  the  Beast  with  the  great  iron  teeth, 
and  over  all  the  man  of  the  iron  heart,  the  Antichrist,  the 
Devil's  son. 

And  God's  Son  will  come  and  His  sceDtre  shall  be  of 
iron,  iron  of  might  that  shall  smite  upon  the  Beast  and 
his  confederates  and  prove  them  not  iron  but  worthless, 
sin-stained  clay.  "  As  the  vessels  of  a  potter  shall  they  be 
broken  to  shivers."    Revelation  2 :  2y. 

His  kingdom  will  not  be  a  kingdom  of  grace  but  a 
kingdom  of  strict  righteousness  and  justice;  his  sceptre 
will  not  be  the  gold  of  refinement  and  polished  rest,  but 
the  iron  of  rule,  of  hardness  and  unyielding  severity. 

He  treadeth  the  winepress  of  the  fierceness  and  mrath 
of  Almighty  God. 

Behold  the  cloudless  skies  of  Palestine !  The  hills  are 
vineclad  and  the  purple  grapes  gleam  in  the  golden  sun. 

They  gather  the  grapes,  great  clusters,  wonderful  clus- 
ters from  the  vines  of  the  earth  and  cast  them  into  the 
winepress  that  waits  them,  till  the  press  is  full. 

And  lo !  the  treader  of  the  winepress !  He  leaps  upon 
the  piled-up  beauty  of  grapes.  He  tramples  them  beneath 
his  feet  with  wild  delight,  and  the  rounded  grapes  are 
broken,  the  crimson  hearts  break  and  the  flood  pours  forth 
like  blood,  blood  from  veins  and  arteries  of  men ;  and  the 
red  stain  covers  His  feet,  until  they  sink  and  sink  in  the 
reddening,  deepening  tide ;  and  the  stain  is  on  all  His  gar- 
ments. 

He  laughs,  he  shouts,  he  sings,  and  they  come  to  him 
with  laughing  lips  and  arms  that  are  heaped,  fair,  yet 
sun  browned  girls,  and  boys  like  sculptured,  olden  gods, 
and  men,  and  the  press  is  full ;  still  the  treader  waves  his 
hands,  he  shouts,  he  laughs  and  sings  and  ever  cries, 


THE  SCENIC  PROPHECY  255 

"  More,  bring  me  more,  the  press  is  not  yet  full."  With 
redoubled  fury  he  treads  and  tramples  the  helpless  things 
till  they  fling  up  their  beating  life  in  his  face.  Now  his 
face !  look  at  it !  it  is  stained  and  streaked.  He  is  a  pic- 
ture of  blood.  And  the  wine  of  this  blood  makes  him 
mad  and  drunken  in  fury.  He  tramples  and  he  treads  till 
the  vats  below  are  full  of  the  crimson  stream. 

Thus  will  He,  the  Christ  of  God,  come  forth. 

He  will  come  to  tread  in  the  winepress. 

That  winepress !  the  land  of  the  cloudless  sky  and  the 
vineclad  hills. 

The  grapes,  the  bodies  of  men  gathered  from  the 
"  vine  of  the  earth,"  that  vine  that  would  imitate  the  true 
vine  of  God,  that  wicked  and  unspeakable  thing  of  the 
Devil,  his  system,  his  kingdom  and  masterpiece  of  lies. 

And  He  will  trample  them  in  His  fury. 

Hark !  it  is  His  own  word : 

"  I  will  tread  them  in  mine  anger,  and  trample  them  in 
my  fury ;  and  their  blood  shall  be  sprinkled  upon  my  gar- 
ments. 

"  For  the  day  of  vengeance  is  in  my  heart."    Isaiah 

For  it  is  written: 

"  Thrust  in  thy  sharp  sickle,  and  gather  the  clusters  of 
the  vine  of  the  earth ;  for  her  grapes  are  fully  ripe. 

"  And  the  angel  thrust  in  his  sickle  into  the  earth,  and 
cast  into  the  great  winepress  of  the  wrath  of  God. 

"  And  the  winepress  was  trodden  without  the  city,  and 
blood  came  out  of  the  winepress,  even  unto  the  horse- 
bridles,  by  the  space  of  a  thousand  and  six  hundred  fur- 
longs."  Revelation  14 :  18-20. 

It  is  the  winepress  of  the  fierceness  and  wrath  of  Al- 
mighty God. 


256  THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST 

He  will  tread  and  trample  in  His  fury  till  the  blood  of 
men  shall  fill  the  earth  as  the  juice  of  the  grape  the  over- 
flowing vats. 

He  will  tread  and  trample  them  beneath  His  accusing 
feet,  till  their  upspurting  blood  shall  make  Him  crimson. 

Crimson  and  stained  was  He  that  night  of  the  nth  of 
April,  A.  D.  32,  when  they  took  down  His  pierced  body 
from  the  accursed  cross. 

Crimson  and  stained  were  the  poor  feet  as  the  disciples, 
amid  their  blinding  tears,  straightened  them  for  the  silent 
tomb,  on  that  strange,  sad  night  of  the  saddest  passover 
of  earth. 

Crimsoned  and  stained  were  His  head,  His  face.  His 
hands,  His  feet. 

Crimson  and  stained  will  be  all  His  garments  as  He 
treads  and  tramples  and  crushes  the  nations  as  though 
mad  and  drunken  in  the  blind  fury  of  His  wrath. 

It  is  His  strange  work.  His  strange  act. 

As  it  is  written: 

"  For  the  Lord  shall  rise  up  as  in  mount  Perazim,  he 
shall  be  wroth  as  in  the  valley  of  Gibeon,  that  he  may  do 
his  work,  his  strange  zvork;  and  bring  to  pass  his  act,  his 
strange  act."    Isaiah  28 :  21. 

The  work  of  treading  and  trampling  the  life  blood  out 
of  His  foes. 

It  is  that  hour  promised  Him  of  the  Father,  when  His 
enemies  should  be  made  His  footstool : 

"  Sit  thou  at  my  right  hand,  until  I  make  thine  enemies 
thy  footstool."    Psalm  119:  I. 

The  hour  of  the  footstool  has  come. 

He  treads  on  it  and  blood,  the  blood  of  men,  is  the 
answer  to  His  treading. 

His  name  is  King  of  kings,  and  Lord  of  lords. 


THE  SCENIC  PROPHECY  257 

He  comes  to  His  glory  not  as  the  Saviour,  meek  and 
lowly,  not  through  the  suffrage  of  willing  hearts  and  the 
plaudits  of  a  welcoming  world,  but  as  a  king,  an  autocrat, 
a  despot,  through  the  gushing  blood  of  a  trampled 

WORLD. 

Think  of  it! 

He  comes  from  Heaven. 

He  rises  up  from  the  joy  and  gladness  of  the  marriage 
feast,  from  the  fellowship  of  love,  of  tenderness  and 
grace,   and  descends   swiftly    to    earth    that    He   may 

TRAMPLE  IT  BENEATH   HiS  FEET  IN  FURY  ! 

What  a  portrait! 

What  an  appalling  picture! 

What  an  utter  recklessness  of  exegetical  folly,  to  rep- 
resent the  world  as  having  lived  through  generations  of 
millennial  glory  and  peace  before  this  manifestation  of 
His  Presence,  His  Personal  Appearing ! 

What  blind,  almost  treasonable  perversion  of  the  Word 
of  God,  and  the  direct  message  of  the  Spirit,  to  represent 
a  world  spiritually  enthroned  of  Christ  through  the 
preaching  of  the  Gospel  before  this  hour  of  the  revelation 
in  personal  wrath  and  judgment! 

What  putting  light  for  darkness,  and  darkness  for 
light. 

What  writing  in  the  thought  and  conception  of  men, 
instead  of  the  declaration  of  God  in  its  naked  integrity. 

What  folly  of  interpretation,  that  passes  nigh  unto 
foolery,  in  making  the  revelation  of  truth  an  elastic  band 
to  cover  the  expansive  hopes  of  the  flesh,  and  a  shrunken, 
and  unresponsive  chord,  to  bind  in  bonds  the  so-called 
pessimism  of  the  truth. 

The  portrait  proclaims  in  all  its  terrible  lines  that  the 
wickedness  and  sin  of  the  world  previous  to  His  Coming 


258  THE   COMING    OF   CHRIST 

has  culminated  in  outrage,  shame,  excuseless  deviltry  and 
horror  of  iniquity ;  that  a  blind,  brute-swayed  world  has 
put  on  the  cap  and  bells  of  a  clown  from  the  pit,  and 
turned  the  comedy  of  life  into  the  tragedy  of  an  infinite 
hell,  till  the  long-suffering,  century-mocked  silence  and 
love  of  God  have  been  turned  into  the  concentrated  wrath 
and  fierceness  of  incarnate  judgment. 

2.  Consider  those  who  follow  this  emergent,  wrathful 
King  of  Heaven. 

They  are  represented  as  armies. 

They  come  forth  as  a  body  of  fighters. 

They  come  forth  to  assist  the  Warrior  to  make  war  on 
the  earth. 

Is  THIS  THE  Church  of  Christ? 

How  completely  her  complexion  has  changed ! 

For  all  the  ages  since  her  Lord  left  these  shores  she  has 
been  dealing  in  rare,  persuasive  grace,  binding  up  the 
broken  hearted  and  pouring  in  the  healing  oil. 

Now  she  comes  not  as  a  fair  and  gentle  spouse  who 
seeks  to  honor  her  absent  Lord  and  make  Him  rich  in 
thanksgiving  with  the  ministrations  of  mercy  in  His 
name,  but  to  dispense  judgment  instead  of  grace;  to 
make  wounds  instead  of  healing  them ;  to  give  sorrow  in- 
stead of  joy;  to  fill  up  the  cup  of  tears  to  the  brim  in- 
stead of  overflowing  it  with  smiles. 

She  shares  the  feelings  of  her  Lord. 

Her  desire,  as  of  all  true  women,  is  subject  unto  that 
Lord. 

It  is  the  picture  of  a  church  that  has  been  no  more  at 
home,  no  more  popular  than  her  Head ;  for  it  is  the  pic- 
ture of  those  who  are  truly  the  Lord's ;  those  who  have 
been  wholly  His,  and  to  whom  Lie  has  been  joined  as  a 
husband  to  the  wife  of  his  heart. 


THE   SCENIC  PROPHECY  259 

It  tells  the  story  of  the  infinite  distance  between  those 
who  are  truly  of  the  Lord,  and  the  world  that  slew  Him, 
and  hates  Him  now. 

Behold  what  this  coming  Lord  and  His  accompanying 
saints  find  on  the  earth. 
•  Armies  gathered  together  to  make  war  on  the  Lamb. 

This  is  the  end. 
-  This  is  the  attitude  of  the  world ! 

Organized  in  open  and  monstrous  rebellion  against  the 
King  of  kings  and  Lord  of  lords. 

These  kings  are  under  the  headship  of  the  Beast,  a 
wild  beast,  not  a  lamb,  not  incarnate  love,  not  the  spirit  of 
gentleness  and  peace !  It  is  the  wild  beast  spirit,  the 
devouring,  tearing  beast.  It  is  the  incarnation  of  that 
which  hates  and  seeks  always  to  destroy.  It  is  the  picture 
of  a  world  given  over  to  lawlessness,  madness  and  im- 
piety, seeking  to  dethrone  God  and  cast  Him  out  of  His 
world  forever. 

Figures !  symbols ! 

Yes!  And  as  consequence  only  able  to  give  us  the 
shadow  of  the  reality. 

A  more  terrible  suggestion  of  conditions  beyond  the 
power  of  human  speech,  even  when  inspired  by  the  Spirit 
■of  God,  could  not  be  given. 

The  symbol  means  the  reality  is  beyond  words. 

If  the  symbols  are  monstrous,  who  can  conceive  of  the 
monstrousness  of  the  actual,  the  real? 

It  is  a  wild  beast  government ;  a  world  under  the  rule 
of  materialism  and  sensualism  at  the  worst;  a  world  in 
which  man  has  slipped  away  from  the  marrow  of  the  soul, 
has  slipped  into  the  framework  of  the  joints,  is  held  by 
the  lime  and  the  dust  of  his  being,  impregnated  ^nd  moved 
by  Devil,  and  not  by  God. 


26o  THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST 

What  room  is  there  in  such  a  world  for  the  Hon  and 
the  lamb  to  lie  down  together? 

A  world  in  which  the  wild  beast  spirit  Is  so  uppermost 
that  in  order  to  meet  and  overcome  it  the  Son  of  God 
seems  to  transform  Himself  into  an  all-devouring  mad- 
ness, wild  wrath  and  fury,  until  of  His  strange  behaviour 
it  is  said,  it  is  the  "  wrath  of  a  Lamb,  a  little  lamb." 

3.    Look  at  the  manner  of  the  King's  victory. 

Death  and  destruction  to  the  armies  of  the  Beast-king. 

Go  back  into  the  prophecy  of  Zechariah  and  read  the 
manner  of  that  death. 

A  plague,  a  pestilence  from  the  hand  of  the  Lord;  so 
that  when  these  men  stand  on  their  feet,  their  flesh  rots 
away  upon  their  bones,  and  their  eyes  consume  in  their 
sockets,  as  it  is  written : 

"  And  this  shall  be  the  plague  wherewith  the  Lord  will 
smite  all  the  people  that  fought  against  Jerusalem  [for  it 
is  to  the  mount  of  Olives,  which  is  before  Jerusalem  on 
the  east,  that  our  Lord  descends]  ;  their  flesh  shall  con- 
sume away  while  they  stand  upon  their  feet,  and  their 
eyes  shall  consume  away  in  their  holes,  and  their  tongues 
shall  consume  away  in  their  mouth."    Zechariah  14 :  12. 

Look  at  the  end  of  the  Beast-king  and  the  False 
Prophet,  his  Prime-minister. 

"  These  both  were  cast  alive  into  a  lake  of  fire 


BURNING   WITH   BRIMSTONE." 


Just  what  Daniel  prophesied  nearly  six  hundred  years 
before  the  vision  of  Patmos ;  as  it  is  written : 

"  I  beheld,  even  till  the  beast  was  slain,  and  his  body 
destroyed,  and  given  to  the  burning  flame."  Daniel 
7:11. 

The  once  rejected,  but  true  King,  after  His  resurrec- 
tion, went  alive  up  into  Heaven. 


THE  SCENIC  PROPHECY  261 

This  false  king  and  prophet  after  their  rejection  by  the 
Lord,  shall  go  down  alive  into  Hell. 

Over  the  last  act  of  the  world's  government  is  the  up- 
leaping  flame  of  smoke  and  brimstone. 

What  an  ending  for  this  age ! 

What  a  commentary  on  its  art,  literature,  science  and 
philosophy. 

What  a  commentary  on  that  teaching  which  makes  a 
converted,  spirit-filled  millennium,  before  the  Lord  comes. 

4.  What  follows  this  dramatic  Coming  of  the  Son  of 
God? 

Let  us  gaze  unhesitatingly  into  the  scene  which  follows. 

Two  great  things  happen. 

I.     Satan  is  bound. 

He  is  bound  like  a  criminal  and  cast  into  the  lowest 
dungeon  of  earth,  into  the  bottomless  pit. 

The  world  is  no  longer  his  arena. 

He  has  been  cast  out  of  the  earth. 

Once,  when  our  Lord  was  on  the  Mount  of  Trans- 
figuration with  Peter,  James  and  John,  the  rest  of  the 
disciples  were  below,  at  the  foot  of  the  mount.  A  father 
brought  them  his  son  possessed  with  a  demon.  The  dis- 
ciples could  not  cast  him  out.  They  used  all  the  power 
they  possessed,  but  in  vain.  At  the  last  the  Lord  de- 
scended and  with  the  simple  word  of  His  power  cast  out 
the  demon  and  restored  the  boy  to  his  father's  arms. 

For  twenty  centuries  the  Lord  has  been  up  in  the  mount 
of  Transfiguration  in  Heaven. 

During  this  time  of  His  absence  the  sons  of  men  have 
come  to  the  doors  of  the  church,  asking  her  to  cast  out 
the  demon,  to  purify  society,  to  make  the  world  better. 
To  this  present  hour  the  church  has  been  unable  to  re- 
spond and  cast  out  the  Devil.    She  has  used  all  sorts  of 


262  THE  COMING   OF  CHRIST 

means,  has  resorted  to  all  schemes,  and  the  Devil  still 
remains,  the  "  God  of  this  world,"  still  thrones  it  upon 
the  sons  of  men. 

This  picture  of  the  Revelation  tells  us  how  the  Devil's 
reign  will  be  broken,  how  he  will  be  cast  down  and  out. 

Not  by  the  legislation  of  men,  the  reformation  of  so- 
ciety, the  dreams  of  socialism,  not  by  the  preaching  of 
the  Gospel  and  the  all-persuasive  power  of  the  Spirit  of 
God,  but  by  the  personal  Coming  of  the  Lord  in  judg- 
ment. 

The  binding  of  Satan  and  the  casting  of  him  out  of 
the  earth  follows  the  Coming  of  the  Lord. 

2.  The  kingdom  of  the  thousand  years  is  set  up, 
the  millennium  is  now  brought  in. 

For  it  is  written : 

"  They  lived  and  reigned  with  Christ  a  thousand  years." 

Once  the  church  at  Corinth  was  led  to  imagine  that  the 
reigning  time  had  come  in  their  day,  and  the  Apostle 
wrote  them  the  keenest  satire  that  ever  fell  from  his  pen : 

"  Now  ye  are  full,  now  ye  are  rich,  ye  have  reigned  as 
kings  without  us :  and  I  would  to  God  ye  did  reign,  that 
we  also  might  reign  with  you."    I  Corinthians  4 : 8. 

What  an  absurdity  to  talk  about  a  reign  and  a  king- 
dom when  the  chiefest  apostle  declares  in  the  following 
verse,  that  he  and  his  fellow  apostles  were  made  a  "  spec- 
tacle "  to  the  world,  to  angels,  and  to  men :  this  word 
"  spectacle  "  meaning  a  "  comedy." 

What  a  pure  comedy  it  is  to  teach  the  setting  up  of 
the  kingdom  while  the  King  himself  is  away,  a  refugee 
upon  the  throne  of  Heaven. 

"  They  lived  and  reigned  with  Christ  a  thousand 
years.'* 

Here  is  the  beginning  of  the  reign  announced. 


THE  SCENIC  PROPHECY  26^ 

Here  is  the  beginning  of  the  thousand  years. 

Here  is  the  beginning  of  the  millennium  for  the  first 
time  announced. 

The  thousand  years,  the  millennium  comes  into  view 
only  after  the  vision  of  the  descending  Christ. 

Look  at  the  picture ;  you  will  find  it  has  five  parts. 

1.  The  coming  of  the  Lord  with  all  His  saints  in  im- 
mortal glory. 

2.  The  overthrow  of  the  organized  rebellion  of  the 
world  under  Antichrist  and  the  False  Prophet, 

3.  The  casting  of  Antichrist  and  the  False  Prophet 
into  the  Lake  of  fire. 

4.  The  binding  of  Satan  for  a  thousand  years  under 
the  earth. 

5.  The  coming  into  view  for  the  first  time  of  the 
thousand  years,  the  millennial  reign  of  Christ  and  His 
church. 

If  the  Millennium  comes  in  after  the  Coming  of  Christ, 
then  the  Coming  of  Christ  is  Pre-Millennial. 

And  this  is  the  name  of  the  scenic  picture  painted  in 
the  colors  of  the  Spirit  in  the  nineteenth  and  twentieth 
chapters  of  the  Revelation. 

It  is  a  name  written  in  such  iridescent  colors,  writ  so 
large  by  the  hand  of  the  living  God  that  it  flashes  out  in 
far-sounding  accent  to  the  ears  of  him  who  is  willing  to 
hear  "  what  the  Spirit  saith  to  the  churches,"  saying  it 
with  an  emphasis  that  leaves  no  alternative  save  the  con- 
tradiction and  denial  of  the  Spirit  Himself: 

THE  COMING  OF  CHRIST,  THE  LORD,  IS  PRE-MILLENNIAL. 


IMMINENCY   AND   ATTITUDE 


"OF  THAT  DAY  AND  THAT  HOUR  KNOWETH  NO 
MAN,  NO,  NOT  THE  ANGELS  WHICH  ARE  IN  HEAVEN, 
NEITHER  THE  SON. 

WATCH  YE  THEREFORE;  FOR  YE  KNOW  NOT  WHEN 
THE  MASTER  OF  THE  HOUSE  COMETH— 

LEST  COMING  SUDDENLY,  HE  FIND  YOU  SLEEPING. 

AND  WHAT  I  SAY  UNTO  YOU,  I  SAY  UNTO  ALL, 
WATCH."— Mark  13 132-37. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

3Imminencp  anti  attituDe 

Admitting  that  the  Coming  of  Christ  is  Pre-Millen- 
nial,  two  questions  arise: 

1.  Is  the  Coming  Imminent?  Is  Christ  coming  any 
moment  ? 

2.  What  is  the  attitude  of  the  church?  Is  she  to  be 
looking  for  a  coming  Lord,  to  be  in  constant  expectancy, 
waiting  for  His  Coming? 

Let  us  hear  what  the  Scriptures  have  to  say. 

Let  us  Hsten  first  of  all  to  the  recorded  testimony  of  the 
Son  of  God. 

We  turn  to  Matthew  24:36-51. 

"  But  of  that  day  and  hour  knoweth  no  man,  no,  not 
the  angels  of  heaven,  but  my  Father  only. 

"  But  as  the  days  of  Noe  were,  so  shall  also  the  coming 
of  the  Son  of  man  be. 

"  For  as  in  the  days  that  were  before  the  flood,  they 
were  eating  and  drinking,  marrying  and  giving  in  mar- 
riage, until  the  day  that  Noe  entered  into  the  ark. 

"  And  knew  not,  until  the  flood  came,  and  took  them  all 
away :  so  shall  also  the  coming  of  the  Son  of  man  be. 

"  Then  shall  two  be  in  the  field :  the  one  shall  be  taken, 
and  the  other  left. 

"Two  women  shall  be  grinding  at  the  mill:  the  one 
shall  be  taken,  and  the  other  left. 

"  Watch,  therefore ;  for  ye  know  not  what  hour  your 
Lord  doth  come. 

"  But  know  this,  that  if  the  goodman  of  the  house  had 

267 


268  THE   COMING    OF   CHRIST 

known  in  what  watch  the  thief  would  come,  he  would 
have  watched,  and  would  not  have  suffered  his  house  to 
be  broken  up. 

"  Therefore  be  ye  also  ready :  for  in  such  an  hour  as  ye 
think  not,  the  Son  of  man  cometh. 

"  Who  then  is  that  faithful  and  wise  servant,  whom  his 
Lord  hath  made  ruler  over  his  household,  to  give  them 
meat  in  due  season  ? 

"  Blessed  is  that  servant,  whom  his  Lord,  when  he 
cometh,  shall  find  so  doing. 

"  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  that  he  shall  make  him  ruler 
over  all  his  goods. 

"  But  and  if  that  evil  servant  shall  say  in  his  heart,  My 
Lord  delayeth  his  coming;  , 

"  And  shall  begin  to  smite  his  fellow  servants,  and  to 
eat  and  drink  with  the  drunken : 

"  The  Lord  of  that  servant  shall  come  in  a  day  when  he 
looketh  not  for  him,  and  in  an  hour  that  he  is  not 
aware  of, 

"  And  shall  cut  him  asunder,  and  appoint  him  his  por- 
tion with  the  hypocrites:  there  shall  be  weeping  and 
gnashing  of  teeth." 

From  this  statement  we  learn: 

1.  The  day  of  the  Lord's  Coming  is  known  to  no 
man. 

2.  The  hour  of  the  Lord's  Coming  is  not  known. 

3.  Neither  the  day  nor  the  hour  are  known  to  the 
angels  in  Heaven. 

4.  The  Coming  of  the  Lord  will  be  as  unexpected  as 
the  coming  of  the  flood. 

5.  It  will  be  as  much  without  previous  sign  or  warn- 
ing as  is  the  coming  of  a  thief. 

6.  Because  the  Lord  is  coming  at  an  unexpected  day 


I  MM  IN  EN  CY  AND  ATTITUDE  269 

and  hour,  like  the  flood,  He  exhorts  the  disciples    to 


"  WATCH." 


7  Because  He  is  coming  without  previous  sign  or 
warning,  like  the  thief,  He  says :  "  Be  ready." 

Turn  to  Matthew  25 :  i-io. 

The  story  is  simple  enough. 

Ten  virgins  go  out  to  meet  a  bridegroom. 

Five  are  wise  and  take  oil  in  vessels  as  well  as  in 
lamps. 

Five  are  foolish  and  take  no  extra  supply  of  oil. 

Both  wise  and  foolish  fall  asleep. 

At  midnight  all  are  aroused  by  the  cry :  "  Behold,  the 
bridegroom  cometh." 

The  foolish  find  their  lamps  going  out  and  wish  to  bor- 
row oil  of  the  wise. 

The  wise  bid  them  go  and  buy  for  themselves. 

While  they  go  to  buy,  the  bridegroom  comes,  and  they 
that  are  ready  go  in  with  him  to  the  marriage,  and  the 
door  is  shut. 

Afterward  the  foolish  ones  come  but  they  cannot  enter 
in ;  the  bridegroom  professes  that  he  knows  them  not. 

The  Lord  Himself  makes  the  application : 

"  Watch  therefore  !  " 

He  speaks  again  in  Mark  13 :  32-37. 

"  But  of  that  day  and  hour  knoweth  no  man,  no,  not 
the  angels  which  are  in  heaven,  neither  the  Son,  but  the 
Father. 

"  Take  ye  heed,  watch  and  pray :  for  ye  know  not  when 
the  time  is. 

"  For  the  Son  of  man  is  as  a  man  taking  a  far  journey, 
who  left  his  house,  and  gave  authority  to  his  servants, 
and  to  every  man  his  work,  and  commanded  the  porter  to 
watch. 


270  THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST 

"  Watch  ye  therefore ;  for  ye  know  not  when  the  master 
of  the  house  cometh,  at  even,  or  at  midnight,  at  the  cock 
crowing,  or  in  the  morning ; 

"  Lest  coming  suddenly,  he  find  you  sleeping. 

"  And  what  I  say  unto  you,  I  say  unto  all^  Watch/' 

1.  There  is  a  householder. 

2.  He  has  a  house. 

3.  There  are  servants  in  the  house. 

4.  Each  servant  has  his  place. 

5.  There  is  a  porter. 

6.  The  householder  is  going  on  a  "  long  journey." 

7.  He  will  come  back. 

8.  He  may  return  at  even. 

9.  He  may  return  at  midnight. 

10.  He  may  return  at  cock-crowing. 

11.  He  may  return  in  the  morning. 

12.  He  will  return  suddenly;  that  is,  without  zvarn- 
ing. 

13.  It  is  possible  he  may  find  some  of  the  household 
sleeping. 

14.  He  says  unto  all :  "  Watch." 

The  application  is  as  clear  as  unclouded  sunlight  fall- 
ing on  an  unobstructed  plain. 

1.  The  Householder  is  the  Lord. 

2.  The  House,  the  Church. 

3.  The  Servants,  teachers,  and,  representatively,  the 
whole  assembly. 

4.  The  Porter,  the  Holy  Spirit. 

5.  The  Lord  has  gone  on  a  long  journey,  into  a  "  far  " 
country,  even  Heaven. 

6.  He  is  coming  back. 

7.  The  time  while  He  is  away  is  divided  into  four 
periods ; 


IMMINENCY  AND  ATriTUDE  271 

Even. 
Midnight. 
Cock-crowing. 
The  morning. 

8.  Any  time  after  His  departure  He  might  have  re- 
turned in  the  "  even,"  or  the  "  midnight." 

9.  He  may  now  return  at  "  cock-crowing,"  or  "  in  the 
morning." 

10.  He  will  return  suddenly,  without  previous  sign, 
or  warning. 

11.  No  man  on  earth  knows  either  the  day  or  the 
hour. 

12.  No  angel  in  lieaven  knows. 

13.  When  He  was  on  earth,  He  Himself  did  not 
know. 

14.  Only  the  Father  knows. 

15.  What  He  says  to  one  in  the  church  on  earth.  He 
now  says  to  all :  "  Watch." 

The  word  means  to  "  keep  awake." 

We  get  next,  Luke  12:35-40. 

"  Let  your  loins  be  girded  about,  and  your  lights  burn- 
ing: 

"  And  ye  yourselves  like  unto  men  that  wait  for  their 
lord,  when  he  shall  return  from  the  wedding ;  that,  when 
he  cometh  and  knocketh,  they  may  open  to  him  immedi- 
ately. 

"  Blessed  are  those  servants,  whom  the  lord  when  he 
cometh,  shall  find  watching:  verily  I  say  unto  you,  that 
he  shall  gird  himself,  and  make  them  to  sit  down  to  meat, 
and  will  come  forth  and  serve  them. 

"  And  if  he  shall  come  in  the  second  watch,  or  come  in 
the  third  watch?  and  find  them  so,  blessed  are  those  serv- 
ants. 


2^2  THE    COMING    OF    CHRIST 

"  And  this  know,  that  if  the  goodman  of  the  house  had 
known  what  hour  the  thief  would  come,  he  would  have 
watched,  and  not  have  suffered  his  house  to  be  broken 
through. 

"  Be  ye  therefore  ready  also :  for  the  Son  of  man  com- 
eth  at  an  hour  when  ye  think  not." 

1.  He  is  coming  back. 

2.  He  might  have  come  in  the  second  or  the  third 
watch,  at  "  midnight,"  or,  "  cock-crowing." 

3.  The  time  of  His  Coming  is  uncertain. 

4.  His  Coming  will  be  as  much  without  warning  as  a 
slippered  thief. 

5.  The  Disciples  are  to  "  watch  "  for  His  return. 

6.  They  are  to  watch  for  it  in  the  time  of  their  earthly 
Hfe. 

7.  They  are  to  expect  it  in  some  hour,  and  because 
they  know  not  what  hour,  and  because  it  might  be  in  any 
hour,  they  are  therefore  to  watch  for  it  every  hour. 

Peter  wishes  to  know  whether  the  application  is  for 
himself  and  the  few,  or  for  all. 

In  response,  the  Lord  returns  to  the  figure  of  the  house- 
hold. 

1.  A  steward  rules  over  the  household. 

2.  The  responsibility  of  the  steward  is  to  give  to  each 
his  portion  of  meat  in  "  due  "  season. 

3.  The  servant  who  does  this  will  be  rewarded  by  the 
master  of  the  household  when  he  returns. 

4.  The  steward  who  has  taught  the  household  that  the 
lord  has  delayed  his' coming;  who  teaches  that  there  is 
"  something  "  between  the  household  and  the  coming  of 
the  master  will  be  cut  off  when  he  comes. 

He  will  be  cut  off,  not  because  he  becomes  violent  or 


IMMINENCY  AND  ATTITUDE  273 

"  drunken,"  but  because  he  teaches  the  "  delay  "  of  the 
Lord. 

5.  The  lord  will  come  and  cut  off  that  steward  in  an 
hour  when  "  he  looketh  not  for  him." 

The  meaning  has  no  lameness  in  its  feet;  it  comes  to 
us  quickly : 

1.  The  Steward  over  the  household  is  the  Teacher, 
the  "  Angel  "  of  the  church. 

2.  The  meat,  the  doctrine.   Hebrews  5 :  12. 

3.  Providing  the  portion  of  meat  in  "  due  season,"  is 
rightly  dividing  the  word,  and  faithfully  preaching  the 
faith,  delivered  to  the  saints. 

4.  The  Teacher  who  teaches  that  the  Lord  "  delays  " 
His  Coming ;  that  "  something  "  is  necessarily  between 
the  household  of  faith  and  the  Coming  of  the  Lord,  will 
be  "  cut  off,"  excommunicated  from  the  kingdom,  when 
the  Lord  comes. 

5.  The  Lord  will  come  in  an  hour  when  such  a  teacher 
"  looketh  not  for  him,"  and  will  be  taken  unaware. 

If  this  is  not  a  warning  to  those  who  put  something  be- 
tween the  Church  and  the  Lord  which  "  delays "  His 
Coming;  if  this  is  not  a  warning  both  to  the  teachers  in 
the  church,  and  to  the  church,  to  be  ready  for  the  hour 
when  one  thinketh  not,"  then  language  is  simply  a  collo- 
cation of  terms  which  encourages,  and  then  deceives,  the 
imagination. 

This  is  the  testimony  of  the  Son  of  God. 

Taking  His  language  grammatically,  philologically  and 
morally,  as  the  expression  of  recognized  sincerity,  the 
Lord  tells  His  church  that  His  Coming  is  possible  in 
some  day,  some  hour ;  some  day,  some  hour  unknown  on 
earth. 


274  THE   COMING    OF   CHRIST 

So  far  as  the  knowledge  of  those  who  are  on  the  earth 
is  concerned;  so  far  as  any  revelation  has  been  given  to 
them,  the  Coming  might  be  any  hour  from  "  even  to 
morn." 

An  hour  is  made  up  of  moments ;  a  moment  in  the  hour 
not  designated  is  "  any  moment." 

As  the  Lord  is  coming  in  some  undesignated  moment, 
in  any  hour  between  the  even  and  the  morning,  He  is 
coming  necessarily,  any  moment. 

This  is  the  testimony  of  the  Son  of  God  as  to  His 
"  imminency." 

He  is  equally  clear  as  to  the  attitude  of  the  church  in 
respect  to  it. 

He  says :  » 

Watch  ! 

That  word  has  been  shown  to  signify :  "  Keep  awake." 

The  exhortation  to  keep  awake  is  the  command  to  be 
expecting  His  Coming  at  any  moment. 

He  says: 

Be  ready  !  and  that  means :  "  Be  prepared  "  for  it  is 
an  event  likely  to  happen  while  you  are  watching. 

This  is  the  commanded  attitude  of  the  Church : 

"Watch!  Keep  awake;  Be  ready!  Be  prepared  for 
My  Coming  in  some  hour  unknown  to  you." 

It  is  an  attitude  of  waiting  and  readiness  in  any  hour, 
and  for  any  moment. 

Let  us  listen  to  the  testimony  of  the  Apostle  Paul : 

I  Corinthians  i :  7. 

"  So  that  ye  come  behind  in  no  gift ;  waiting  for  the 
coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

To  "  wait,"  signifies  "  to  expect." 

Paul  testifies  that  the  Corinthians  were  expecting  the 
Lord  in  their  day. 


IMMINENCY  AND  ATTITUDE  275 

I  Corinthians  15:51,  52. 

"  Behold,  I  show  you  a  mystery :  We  shall  not  all  sleep, 
but  we  shall  all  be  changed. 

"  In  a  moment  J  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  at  the  last 
trump." 

The  Apostle  says : 

1.  All  Christians  will  not  sleep;  that  is,  all  Christians 
will  not  die. 

2.  All  who  do  not  die  will  be  "  changed." 

This  transformation  will  take  place  at  the  sound  of  the 
trump. 

The  trump  sounds  at  the  Coming  of  the  Lord,  i  Thes- 
salonians  4 :  16. 

4.  Some  Christians  then  will  be  alive  at  the  Coming 
of  the  Lord. 

5.  Paul  says,  "  We." 

He  was  writing  to  the  church  at  Corinth,  and  included 
them  with  himself. 

6.  Paul  was  expecting  that  he  and  the  Corinthians 
would  be  alive  unto  the  Coming  of  the  Lord. 

7.  The  fact  that  he  and  they  died  is  not  an  evidence 
that  Paul  was  deceived,  or  made  a  "  grievous  "  mistake ; 
on  the  contrary,  it  is  evidence  that  he  took  the  Lord  at 
His  word  concerning  an  "  unknown  "  hour,  and  occupied 
the  attitude  which  that  word  requires,  waiting  for  the 
Lord  in  each  day  and  generation. 

8.  Paul  testifies  that  this  Coming  produces  the  change 
"  in  a  moment." 

The  atmosphere  of  the  Coming  will  be  a  matter  of  a 
moment,  any  moment,  just  as  swift  and  unmarked  to  the 
knowledge  of  men. 

2  Corinthians  5:1-4: 

"  For  we  know,  that  if  our  earthly  house  of  this  taber- 


276  THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST 

nacle  were  dissolved,  we  have  a  building  of  God,  an  house 
not  made  with  hands,  eternal,  in  the  heavens. 

For  in  this  we  groan,  earnestly  desiring  to  be  clothed 
upon  with  our  house  which  is  from  heaven : 

If  so  be  that  being  clothed  we  shall  not  be  found  naked. 

For  we  that  are  in  this  tabernacle  do  groan,  being  bur- 
dened: not  for  that  we  would  be  unclothed,  but  clothed 
upon,  that  mortality  might  be  swallowed  up  of  life." 

1.  The  body  of  a  Christian  is  a  tabernacle,  a  "tent- 
house." 

2.  Death  takes  down  the  tent. 

3.  When  the  tent  is  taken  down,  the  Christian  is  as- 
sured that  he  will  have  another  body. 

4.  This  body  will  not  be  "  hand-made "  but  con- 
structed by  God  Himself. 

5.  It  is  not  in  heaven  as  to  location  now,  but  anticipa- 
tively  as  to  source. 

Heaven  will  be  its  final  location  when  the  Christian 
shall  be  "  caught  up  "  to  meet  the  descending  Lord. 

6.  In  the  present  tent  body  we  are  "  weighed  down," 
we  groan.  We  groan  because  we  are  weighed  down,  held 
down  as  tents  are  held  down,  to  keep  them  steadfast  on 
the  earth. 

7.  We  do  not  want  our  tent  taken  down ;  for  then  we 
should  be  "  unclothed,"  "  naked." 

8.  What  we  want  is  to  be  "  clothed  upon  "  with  our 
house  from  Heaven ;  we  wish  the  new  body  whose  source 
is  God  in  Heaven,  to  be  put  upon  us. 

9.  We  want  this  mortal  to  put  on  immortality, 

10.  We  do  not  want  to  die  and  go  to  Heaven ;  we  want 
Immortality  to  come  to  us  from  Heaven;  we  want  our 
mortal  body  to  be  clothed  upon,  changed  and  made  im- 
mortal. 


IMMINENCY  AND  ATTITUDE  277 

II.  As  Immortality,  that  is  to  say,  a  deathless,  incor- 
ruptible body,  can  alone  come  by  the  Coming  of  the  Lord 
who  produces  this  "  change  "  at  the  sound  of  the  trump, 
then  we  are  yearning  for  the  Coming  of  the  Lord  before 
we  die. 

This  is  what  the  Apostle  says,  speaking  in  the  name  of 
the  whole  church.  And  that  he  is  speaking  in  the  name  of 
the  whole  church,  for  all  time  and  for  this  time,  is  evi- 
dent from  the  fact  that  what  he  writes  to  the  church  at 
Corinth,  he  writes  to  and  for  "  all  that  in  every  place  call 
upon  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord."  i  Corinthians 
1:2. 

It  is  evident  furthermore,  because  he  says : 

"  He  that  hath  wrought  us  for  the  self  same  thing  is 
God."  2  Corinthians  5:5. 

God  hath  wrought  all  Christians  for  immortality. 

Immortality,  a  deathless,  incorruptible  body,  a  body  of 
glory,  can  come  but  in  two  ways :  through  the  resurrec- 
tion of  the  dead  and  "  change  "  of  the  living  at  the  Com- 
ing of  the  Lord. 

The  Apostle  speaking  on  behalf  of  the  whole  church 
of  all  time  says : 

We  do  not  desire  to  attain  immortality  through  death 
and  resurrection;  we  desire  to  attain  immortality  by 
being  changed,  "  clothed  upon  "  while  we  are  alive : 
as  this  change  and  clothing  upon  can  take  place 
only  at  the  coming  of  the  lord,  the  apostle  testi- 
fies that  the  true  attitude  of  the  church  is  ear- 
nestly to  desire  the  lord  to  come  and  produce  this 
change  :  and  furthermore,  that  the  attitude  of  the 
church  in  gospel  order  is  waiting,  expecting  the 
Lord  to  come  and  transfigure  the  living  into  im- 
mortality AT  any  time. 


278  THE   COMING   OF   CHRIST 

He  confirms  this  testimony  in  his  epistle  to  the  PhiHp- 
pians. 

PhiHppians  3:20,  21. 

"  For  our  conversation  is  in  heaven ;  from  whence  also 
we  look  for  the  Saviour,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ ; 

Who  shall  change  our  vile  body  [body  of  humiliation] 
that  it  may  be  fashioned  like  unto  his  glorious  body 
(body  of  glory). 

1.  Our  citizenship  is  in  heaven. 

2.  We  have  a  Saviour  in  that  Heaven. 

3.  He  is  coming  out  of  Heaven. 

4.  He  is  coming  to  change  his  body,  the  body  of  the 
living,  and  make  it  immortal. 

5.  Paul  was  looking  for  that  Saviour  in  his  day. 

6.  Paul  includes  himself  with  the  Christians  of  that 
day;  hence,  also,  of  our  day. 

7.  We  are  to  be  looking  for,  that  is,  expecting,  a  Sav- 
iour to  give  us  the  change  unto  immortality  in  our  day, 
while  we  are  yet  alive. 

The  Apostle  writes  in  the  same  vein  to  the  Thessalo- 
nians,  the  model  church  of  the  New  Testament. 

In  I  Thessalonians  i :  9,  10,  he  writes : 

"  Ye  turned  to  God  from  idols,  to  serve  the  living  and 
true  God; 

And  to  wait  for  his  Son  from  heaven." 

1.  The  Thessalonians  had  turned  to  God. 

2.  They  turned  to  God  from  idols. 

3.  They  turned  from  the  gods  without  life  to  serve 
the  living  and  true  God. 

4.  They  turned  to  serve  God  and  to  wait  for  His  Son 
from  heaven. 

5.  They  were  waiting  for  the  Son  of  God  in  their  day, 
as  though  it  might  take  place  at  any  time. 

6.  Paul's  reference  to  their  attitude  is  a  commenda- 


I  MM  IN  EN  CY  AND  ATTITUDE  279 

tion  of  them,  and  because  he  sets  them  forth  as  an  "  en- 
sample  to  all  that  believe,"  his  commendation  of  them  is 
a  recommendation  of  their  attitude  to  us. 

As  much  as  the  church  at  Thessalonica,  we  are  to  "wait 
for  the  Son  of  God  from  heaven  "  and,  of  course,  "  wait- 
ing "  means  expecting, 

I  Thessalonians  4 :  16,  17. 

"  For  the  Lord  himself  shall  descend  from  heaven  with 
a  shout,  with  the  voice  of  the  archangel,  and  with  the 
trump  of  God :  and  the  dead  in  Christ  shall  rise  first : 

Then  we  which  are  alive  and  remain,  shall  be  caught  up 
together  with  them  in  the  clouds,  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the 
air:  and  so  shall  we  ever  be  with  the  Lord. 

Wherefore  comfort  one  another  with  these  words." 

To  get  the  full  force  of  the  Apostle's  testimony,  let  us 
read  vs.  13-15. 

"  But  I  would  not  have  you  to  be  ignorant,  brethren, 
concerning  them  which  are  asleep,  that  ye  sorrow  not, 
even  as  others  which  have  no  hope. 

For  if  we  believe  that  Jesus  died  and  rose  again,  even 
so  them  also  which  sleep  in  Jesus  will  God  bring  with 
him. 

For  this  we  say  unto  you  by  the  word  of  the  Lord, 

that  WE  WHICH  ARE  ALIVE,  AND  REMAIN  UNTO  THE  COM- 
ING OF  THE  Lord,  shall  not  prevent  [go  before]  them 
which  are  asleep." 

1.  Christians  are  not  to  sorrow  over  the  "  dead  in 
Christ,"  as  those  who  have  no  hope. 

2.  Sorrow  is  not  hopeless  for  such,  because  the  Lord 
is  coming  to  raise  their  body  and  bring  them  into  a  state 
of  immortality. 

3.  He  will  raise  the  Christian  dead  first. 

4.  Then  the  sorrowing  ones  who  are  alive  will  be 
caught  up  with  them  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air. 


28o  THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST 

5.  Paul  is  giving  this  comfort,  not  to  the  dead,  nor  to 
those  whom  he  expects  to  die,  but  to  the  Hving,  to  those 
who  he  says  will  be  alive  unto  the  Coming  of  the  Lord. 

He  says  "  we." 

That  "  we  "  which  included  the  Thessalonians  with  him- 
self and  makes  it  a  demonstration  that  he  looked  upon  it 
as  possible  that  the  Lord,  at  any  time,  might  descend  into 
the  air  and  "  shout "  him  up  alive. 

Paul's  "  we  "  must  include  us  of  to-day ;  otherwise,  we 
are  cut  off  from  the  doctrine  and  promise  of  the  church. 

Because  his  "  we  "  includes  us,  then  we  are  to  comfort 
ourselves  in  respect  to  our  Christian  dead,  that  at  any 
time  the  Lord  may  come  and  we  shall  be  among  the  num- 
ber who  "  ARE  ALIVE  AND  REMAIN  UNTO  THE  COMING  OF 

THE  Lord."  i  Thessalonians  5:1,2. 

"  The  day  of  the  Lord  so  cometh  as  a  thief  in  the  night." 

1.  The  day  of  the  Lord  is  coming. 

2.  It  will  begin  in  the  night. 

3.  It  will  come  like  a  thief. 

4.  It  will  come  without  warning. 

5.  It  will  come  without  signs. 

6.  It  will  come  secretly. 

7.  It  will  begin  invisibly  to  the  world. 

8.  It  will  come  before  day-break. 

9.  It  may  come  any  time  because  it  is  not  fixed  for 
some  time  in  the  earthly  calendar. 

10.  The  Day  of  the  Lord  is  introduced  by  the  Coming 
of  the  Lord. 

11.  However  much  the  Lord  will  be  revealed  in  the 
Day,  His  Coming  to  inaugurate  the  glory  of  the  Day,  the 
inauguration  itself,  will  be  in  the  invisibility  symbolized 
by  the  "  night." 

12.  Because  this  Coming  of  the  Lord  is  thus  like  the 


IMMINENCY  AND  ATTITUDE  281 

coming  of  the  thief,  at  no  revealed  time  in  the  night,  and 
may  therefore  be  at  any  time  in  this  spiritual  night,  the 
Apostle  exhorts  the  Christian  who  is  of  the  "  Day,"  and 
not  of  the  "  Night." 

Ke  says: 

"  Let  us  not  sleep. 

Let  us  watch." 

In  other  words,  the  Apostle  exhorts  the  Thessalonian 
church,  and  therefore  the  Church  of  to-day,  to  hold  the 
attitude  of  waiting  for  an  imminently  coming  Lord. 

I  Thessalonians  5  :  17. 

"  I  pray  God  your  whole  spirit  and  soul  and  body  be 
preserved  blameless  unto  the  coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ." 

The  Apostle  prays  for  three  things. 

1.  That  the  spirit,  soul  and  body  of  the  Christian  be 
blameless  at  the  Coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

2.  That  spirit,  soul  and  body  be  preserved  entire ;  that 
is,  that  the  trinity  of  constitution  be  kept  together  in  the 
unity  of  the  person. 

3.  He  is  praying  that  at  the  Coming  of  Christ  spirit, 
soul  and  body  may  not  be  separated,  body  in  the  grave, 
soul  and  spirit  with  the  Lord. 

4.  He  is  praying,  consistently  with  his  uniform  testi- 
mony that  the  Lord  may  come  at  any  time,  that  the  Thes- 
salonians may  not  die,  any  of  them,  before  the  Lord 
comes;  he  is  praying  that  they  may,  all  of  them,  be 
preserved  alive  unto  that  Coming. 

Titus  2 :  13. 

"  Looking  for  that  blessed  hope,  and  the  glorious  ap- 
pearing of  the  great  God  and  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ." 
.  I.     The  Coming  of  the  Lord  is  the  "  Blessed  Hope." 
2.     Titus  is  to  expect  its  realization  in  his  day. 


282  THE   COMING   OF   CHRIST 

3.  It  is  as  much  our  hope  as  his. 

4.  We,  therefore,  are  to  expect  it  as  much  in  our  day 
as  he  did  in  his. 

This  is  the  testimony  of  Paul. 

Let  us  hear  the  testimony  of  the  Apostle  James,  the 
conservative  Apostle. 
James  5  : 8,  9. 

"  The  coming  of  the  Lord  draweth  nigh.     ,    .    . 
The  Judge  standeth  before  the  door/' 

1.  The  Lord  is  coming. 

2.  The  coming  "  draweth  nigh."  The  Lord  is  "  before 
the  door,"  ready  to  enter  in,  when  it  is  "  opened  to  him, 
immediately." 

3.  The  coming  of  the  Lord  then  is  so  imminent  that 
it  is  at  our  "  threshold." 

If  this  is  not  imminency,  then  language  is  a  robber  on 
the  highway  of  understanding,  stealing  away  the  senses, 
and  paralyzing  all  dialect  of  "  definition." 

Let  us  hear  the  testimony  of  the  Son  of  God  after  His 
resurrection  and  ascension  to  Heaven. 

After  His  ascension,  He  descends  to  the  island  of 
Patmos  and  there  meets  John,  the  beloved  disciple.  He 
bids  him  write  seven  letters  to  seven  churches  in  Asia. 
These  churches  represent  the  whole  church  while  He  is 
away.  Any  one  of  the  churches,  at  any  time,  represents 
the  whole  church  while  He  is  away. 

To  the  church  at  Sardis  He  writes,    Revelation  3 :  3. 

"  If  therefore  thou  shalt  not  watch,  I  will  come  on  thee 
as  a  thief,  and  thou  shalt  not  know  what  hour  I  will  come 
upon  thee  [arrive  over  thee]." 

1.  He  is  coming. 

2.  Coming  as  a  thief.  / 

3.  He  will  "  arrive  over  "  the  church  (in  the  air).         ^ 


IMMINENCV  AND  ATTITUDE  283 

4.  Church  will  not  know  "  what  hour  "  (any  hour,  any 
moment). 

5.  The  Church  is  to  watch  (every  hour,  every  mo- 
ment). 

Hear  Him  in  Revelation  16: 15. 

"  Behold,  I  come  as  a  thief.  Blessed  is  he  that  watcheth, 
and  keepeth  his  garments,  lest  he  walk  naked,  and  they  see 
his  shame." 

In  the  Temple  at  Jerusalem  there  were  guards. 

These  guards  were  placed  at  night. 

They  wore  a  garment,  a  robe,  a  uniform ;  this  robe  was 
the  profession  they  made  to  be  guards. 

There  was  a  Captain. 

At  uncertain  and  unannounced  hours  the  Captain  made 
his  rounds  to  relieve  the  watch ;  sometimes  he  took  one 
and  left  another. 

When  he  found  one  of  the  guards  asleep  on  his  post  he 
took  off  his  robe. 

When  the  guard  awoke  the  Captain  had  come  and  gone, 
had  stripped  off  his  profession,  made  him  naked  and  put 
him  to  shame. 

The  church  is  a  temple.  "  Know  ye  not  that  ye  are  the 
temple  of  God?  "    i  Corinthians  3 :  1-6. 

The  Teachers  in  the  church  are  the  guards  of  the  faith 
once  delivered  to  the  saints,  and  represent  the  whole 
assembly  in  teaching  responsibility  before  God,  represent 
their  faith  or  faithlessness  in  the  testimony  they  give. 

Christ  the  Lord  is  the  Captain  of  the  temple  guards. 

He  is  coming  at  an  unannounced  hour  to  relieve  the 
watch.    One  will  be  taken  and  another  left. 

Those  who  have  proven  faithless  will  be  stripped  of 
their  profession. 

They  will  be  stripped  by  being  left  behind,  and  like  the 


284  THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST 

foolish  virgins  shown  to  have  no  "  oil  relation  "  to  the 
Lord. 

They  will  be  naked  and  ashamed  before  the  bare  light 
of  the  "  Day." 

He  is  coming  like  a  thief  to  steal  not  only  from  the 
world  the  treasure  it  fails  to  own  and  recognize  to-day, 
but  He  is  coming  to  steal  from  the  "  professing  "  church 
the  garment  that  has  under  it  no  "  possession." 

Because  He  is  coming  like  a  thief  to  snatch  away  the 
mere  profession  and  make  it  naked  to  the  gaze  of  judg- 
ment He  warns  all  in  the  church  to  be  on  watch,  and  for 
each  one  to  keep  his  garment ;  that  is,  to  "  hold  fast "  the 
profession  he  has  made. 

If  this  is  not  a  warning  to  be  ready  for  imminency,  then 
speech  is  double  tongued,  and  we  should  refuse  to  believe 
that  it  ever  was  on  the  lips  of  the  Son  of  God. 

The  warning  given  in  this  chapter  is  in  accord  with  the 
one  given  in  the  second  chapter  and  the  tenth  verse : 

"  Behold,  I  come  quickly :  hold  that  fast  which  thou 
hast,  that  no  man  take  thy  crown." 

Hear  now  the  testimony  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  respect 
to  imminency. 

"  And  the  Spirit  says.  Come."    Revelation  22 :  17. 

Hear  the  testimony  of  the  Bride,  not  the  great  profes- 
sion called  the  church,  but  the  Bride,  she  to  whom  the 
Lord,  having  left  Father  and  Mother,  has  been  "  joined." 

"  The  Bride  says,  Come."    Revelation  22 :  17. 

Let  us  hear  the  obligatory  testimony  of  him  who  hears 
the  Lord's  announcement  that  He  is  coming: 

"  Let  him  that  heareth  say.  Come." 

Hear  once  more  and  for  the  last  time  the  testimony  of 
the  ascended  Lord  till  He  shall  actually  come  again : 

"  Surely  I  come  quickly."    Revelation  22 :  20. 


IMMINENCY  AND  ATTITUDE  285 

Hear  the  last  prayer  of  the  New  Testament. 

"  Even  so,  come.  Lord  Jesus." 

The  testimony  is  all  in.    The  witnesses  have  spoken. 

Christ  the  Lord.    Ante-mortem  testimony. 

Paul,  the  depository  of  the  "  doctrine  "  of  the  church. 

James,  the  conservative  Apostle. 

Christ  the  Lord.    Post-mortem  testimony. 

The  Spirit — an  exhortation  to  the  Lord  to  come. 

The  Bride,  a  longing  cry  for  the  Bridegroom. 

The  Ear  that  has  heard  the  news  that  He  is  coming,  a 
cry  to  Him  to  "  hasten." 

The  concentrated  Prayer  pouring  out  of  the  volume  of 
inspiration :    "  Amen.    Even  so,  come.  Lord  Jesus." 

The  testimony  is  a  unit  in  a  threefold  declaration : 

The  coming  of  the  Lord  is  imminent. 

The  church  in  every  age  is  to  be  ready  for  the 
imminency. 

The  CHURCH  is  to  hold  the  attitude  of  waiting; 

EXPECTING  THE  IMMINENCY  :  THE  CHURCH  IS  TO  BE  WAIT- 
ING FOR  THE  Son  of  God  from  heaven. 

Of  course  this  teaching  that  the  Coming  of  Christ  is 
imminent,  and  that  the  church  is  to  be  in  the  attitude  of 
constant  expectation  concerning  it,  is  an  added,  an  over- 
whelming evidence  that  the  Coming  of  Christ  is  Pre- 
Millennial. 

If  the  Coming  of  Christ  is  imminent ;  if  the  church  is  to 
be  in  the  attitude  of  waiting  for  it,  then  a  world  converted 
by  the  Gospel  a  thousand  years  before  the  Coming  is  an 
absolute  impossibility. 

The  declaration  of  the  Lord,  the  corroborative  witness 
of  the  Apostles  and  the  uniformly  commanded  attitude  of 
the  church,  settle  and  seal  beyond  all  question  and  con- 
troversy, that  the  Coming  of  the  Lord  is  Pre-Millennial. 


286  THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST 

There  are  those  who  preach  and  teach  the  doctrine  of 
the  Pre-Millennial  Coming. 

They  agree  most  fully  that  there  can  be  no  Millennium 
till  the  Lord  come;  that  so  far  from  the  church  convert- 
ing the  world,  the  world  will  convert  the  church. 

No  one  can  outdo  them  in  the  demonstration  that  the 
Coming  of  the  Lord  is  Pre-Millennial. 

But  while  admitting  that  it  is  Pre-Millennial,  they  deny 
that  it  is  imminent. 

They  testify  that  many  events  were  predicted  as  certain 
to  take  place  before  the  Coming  of  the  Lord. 

For  example:  The  death  of  Peter,  the  offering  up  of 
Paul,  the  dow^n  grade  of  the  church  culminating  in  apos- 
tasy, the  resurrection  of  the  Roman  empire,  the  return  of 
the  Jews  and  the  effectuation  of  Zionism,  the  rise  of  the 
Antichrist  and  his  impious  course,  the  Great  Tribulation, 
and  cognate  or  co-ordinate  events. 

To  hold  up  in  the  face  of  these  clearly  predicted  events, 
events  which  must  be  fulfilled  before  the  Lord  comes,  that 
the  Coming  itself  is  imminent,  is,  so  they  teach,  absurd, 
full  of  folly  and  wholly  unwarranted  in  the  Word  of  God. 

The  Lord  is  coming,  such  is  their  teaching,  sooner  or 
later. 

He  cannot  come  sooner  than  the  fulfilment  of  the 
predicted  events. 

The  fulfilment  of  these  predictions  will  take  time. 

It  cannot  be  to-day. 

It  cannot  be  to-morrow. 

It  cannot  be  this  year. 

It  cannot  be  at  least  for  seven  years. 

It  may  be  many,  many  years  before  the  accepted  seven 
years  can  begin. 

No  Christian,  all  things  being  equal,  is  warranted  in 


IMMINENCY  AND  ATTITUDE  287 

looking  for  the  Lord  within  a  decade ;  it  may  be  two  or 
ten  decades. 

No  Christian,  certainly,  is  warranted  in  looking  for  the 
Lord  to-day. 

If  he  cannot  look  for  Him  to-day  or  to-morrow,  or  this 
year,  His  Coming  is  not  imminent. 

If  it  is  not  imminent  the  attitude  of  the  church  at  this 
hour  is  not  to  wait  for  it,  not  to  expect  it. 

Those  who  preach  this  doctrine  play  directly  into  the 
hands  of  the  Post-Millennialists. 

They  are  Post-Millennialists  in  disguise. 

They  are  more  dangerous  than  Post-Millennialists. 

You  know  exactly  where  to  find  the  Post-Millennialist. 

You  will  find  him  outside  the  Word  of  God;  or,  you 
will  find  him  inside  the  Word,  stealing  without  a  blush 
of  compunction  the  promises  made  exclusively  to  the 
people  of  Israel,  and  handing  them  over  to  the  Church, 
thus  making  her  the  receiver  of  stolen  goods. 

You  will  find  him  putting  the  church  on  the  ground  of 
Israel,  or  leading  her  on  to  the  ground  of  the  Patriarchs, 
making  common  cause  with  the  sons  of  Jacob,  teaching 
her  to  call  herself  "  Zion,"  and  mouthing  about  a  "  Jewish 
Church." 

You  will  find  him  "  mixing  "  law  and  grace,  unable  to 
discern  the  church,  either  as  to  what  she  is  or  zuhen  or 
where  she  began,  incapable  of  understanding  the  differ- 
ence between  the  age  of  the  "  Body  "  and  the  age  of  the 
"  Kingdom,"  while  the  word  "  Dispensation,"  to  his  con- 
sciousness, is  as  void  of  light  as  a  night  without  stars. 

The  Post-Millennialist  has  no  exegesis. 

There  is  no  exegesis  in  Post-Millennialism. 

There  is  "  Seminary  "  theology,  but  not  "  Biblical " 
theology. 


288  THE    COMING    OF    CHRIST 

There  is  the  theology  that  is  dictated  by  Neander,  Mos- 
heim  and  church  history  in  general;  not  church  history 
brought  to  the  bar  of  the  Bible,  but  the  Bible  brought  to 
the  bar  of  church  history  and  interpreted  according  to 
the  exigencies  of  a  preconceived  system. 

There  is  "  interpretation,"  but  not  "  exegesis." 

It  is  easy  with  an  open  Bible  and  "  dispensational 
truth,"  to  "  bowl  out "  a  Post-Millennialist. 

But  the  Pre-Millenarian  with  Post-Millenarian  ten- 
dencies, who  denies  the  "  imminency,"  comes  with  the 
catch  word  "  Pre-Millennial  "  on  his  lips. 

Those  who  love  the  Lord's  return  are  caught  by  it. 

Then  the  Pre-Millennialist  with  Post-Millennial  ten- 
dencies opens  his  luggage  and  sets  before  the  unwary 
Christian  a  whole  assortment  of  difficulties. 

Nothing  is  so  easy  to  tie  up  in  a  handy  parcel  as  the 
apparent  contradictions  of  Scripture,  specially  in  relation 
to  any  doctrine  that  is  not  desirable.  The  Word  of  God 
is  so  delicate,  so  fine  in  its  affinities,  needs  to  be  so  care- 
fully related,  that  the  broadest  and  strongest,  the  most 
fundamental  doctrines,  if  not  reverently  handled  may,  at 
times,  seem  to  disturb  the  balance  of  truth  and  cross  the 
lines  of  thought ;  again  and  again,  a  passage  of  Scripture 
contains  threads  that  are  woven  through  distinct  dispen- 
sations or  parts  of  the  same  doctrine ;  to  make  difficulties 
with  any  doctrine  is  just  as  easy  as  throwing  stones. 

The  Pre-Millenarian  with  Post-Millenarian  tenden- 
cies does  not  throw  stones,  he  politely  hands  over  his 
neat]'-  ---d  up  package  labelled,  "Certain  Predicted 
Events  which  must  take  place  before  our  Lord's  re- 
turn." 

Then  the  average  Christian  is  troubled. 

By  and  by  he  gives  up  the  "  imminency." 


IMMINENCY  AND  ATTITUDE  289 

For  a  while  he  tries  to  hold  the  "  Hope  "  in  a  sort  of 
anticipative  way. 

He  tries  by  faith  to  step  over  into  the  final  generation 
that  shall  be  alive  at  the  Lord's  Coming.  He  seeks  to 
identify  himself  with  the  expectation  of  that  generation, 
then  came  back  to  his  own  and  try  to  keep  a  "  vivid  " 
impression  of  the  hope  that  in  all  probability  cannot  be 
realized  till  long  after  he  has  "  fallen  on  sleep." 

The  effort  is  too  much  for  him.    ' 

By  and  by  he  gives  up  the  attempt  to  make  the  hope  a 
factor  at  all. 

As  the  hope  fades,  the  fact  of  the  Coming  becomes 
more  and  more  remote.  He  presently  ceases  to  talk 
about  what  is  no  longer  an  upspringing  tide  from  the 
fullness  of  the  heart. 

Then  he  falls  back  on  the  Gospel. 

He  goes  back  to  the  primer  of  Christianity;  he  goes 
back  to  the  a,  b,  c's. 

He  takes  up  the  question  of  prayer. 

He  becomes  occupied  with  "  deepening "  (whatever 
that  may  mean)  the  spiritual  life. 

He  diverts  himself  with  European  politics. 

He  is  taken  up  with  the  "  signs  of  the  times." 

His  strongest  force  is  expressed  in  the  singular  voca- 
tion of  robbing  others  of  the  hope  he  once  possessed. 

Finally,  he  confronts  the  growing  certainty  that  he  will 
die  before  the  Lord  comes. 

He  has  "  delayed  "  the  Lord's  coming. 

"  By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them." 

If  this  kind  of  preaching  can  gain  headway,  it  will  not 
be  long  before  the  Coming  of  the  Lord  as  a  doctrine,  as 
a  present  and  potent  factor  in  Christian  life  and  teaching, 
will  be  set  aside. 


290  THE   COMING    OF   CHRIST 

When  it  is  set  aside,  Post-Millennialism  with  its  fum- 
bhng  interpretation  and  "  construction,"  will  have  free 
course  and  be  glorified. 

Such  preaching  raises  questions  that  are  funda- 
mental. 

I.  It  raises  a  question  as  to  the  sincerity  of  the 
Apostles. 

They  taught  and  teach  the  Coming  of  the  Lord  as 
imminent. 

Paul  says: 

"  We  who  are  alive  and  remain  unto  the  coming 
OF  the  Lord." 

There  is  no  possibility  of  quibbling  with  this  state- 
ment. 

He  commends  the  Church  that  "  waits  for  the  Son 
OF  God  from  heaven." 

He  sets  up  the  ordinance  of  the  Breaking  of  Bread, 
received  not  from  the  hands  of  the  disciples,  but  from  the 
Risen  Lord  Himself,  and  bids  the  Church  to  show  forth 
the  Lord's  death,  "till  He  come." 

He  says  that  the  ultimate  of  the  Lord's  table  in  his  day 
was  the  Coming  of  the  Lord. 

The  Church  in  which  he  set  up  this  table  and  this 
ultimate,  is  the  church  whose  epistle  is  law  and  order  for 
the  church  in  all  places  and  times;  hence  he  sets  the 
church  with  its  back  to  the  empty  grave  and  its  face  to 
the  imminent  Coming  of  the  Lord. 

"  Till  He  come,"  not  till  events  predicted  are  fulfilled, 
that  is  the  watchword. 

James  says : 

"  The  Lord  is  standing  before  the  door." 

If  these  men  were  not  sincere  they  have  no  place  in 
the  church  as  moral  and  spiritual  teachers. 


IMMINENCY  AND  ATT  ITU  DE  291 

2.  It  raises  a  question  as  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
Apostles. 

Were  they  sincere  but  ignorant  ? 

If  they  were  ignorant,  their  words  are  words  of  igno- 
rance ;  if  their  words  are  the  result  of  ignorance,  they  were 
not  inspired,  "  God-breathed,"  therefore  not  in  the  "  all 
Scripture,"  and  can  have  no  authority  with  the  Church. 

3.  It  raises  a  question  as  to  the  sincerity  of  the  Son 
of  God. 

He  said: 

"  I  SAY  UNTO  ALL/ Watch." 

"  Be  ready." 

His  last  utterance  from  Heaven  is : 

"  Behold,  I  am  coming  quickly." 

He  makes  His  Coming  to  be  the  "  next  thing  "  for 
the  Christian. 

The  last  thing  to  which  he  draws  attention  is 
His  Coming. 

He  sets  up  neither  time  nor  event  betv/een  Him- 
self and  the  church. 

He  takes  special  pains  to  assure  the  church  that 
there  is  no  era  of  "  required  delay  "  between  Him- 
self AND  Her:  He  uses  a  word  which  from  the 
earliest  days  of  classic  Greek  signifies  "  without 
delay."  That  is  the  meaning  of  the  word 
"  quickly."  When  therefore.  He  says  :  "  Behold,  I 
am  coming  "   (for  He  uses  the  present  tense)   He 

says  actually,  "  I  AM  COMING  WITHOUT  DELAY."  It 
would  be  impossible  TO  USE  LANGUAGE  WHICH  COULD 
MORE  ADEQUATELY,  AND  WITHOUT  RESERVE,  TEACH  THE 
DOCTRINE  OF  IMMINENCY  AND  LEAD  THE  CHURCH  TO 
HOLD  THE  RESPONSIVE  ATTITUDE  OF  MOMENTARILY 
WAITING  FOR  IT. 


292  THE    COMING    OF    CHRIST 

Was  He  insincere? 

To  ask  the  question  is  to  play  with  fire,  dangerously 
play  with  it! 

To  ask  the  question  is  to  answer  it  like  lightning. 

Whatever  else,  He  was  sincere. 

He  believed,  Himself,  what  He  said. 

4.  It  raises  a  question  as  to  the  knowledge  of  the  Son 
of  God. 

Was  He  ignorant? 

He  did  not  know  what  hour  He  would  come ! 

But  that  lack  of  knowledge  was  not  ignorance,  but 
because  the  Father  had  "  put  the  hour  within  His  own 
power,"  according  to  the  covenant  of  Godhead  and  the 
Son's  relation  to  the  eternal  purpose;  anticipatively,  in 
the  mystery  of  the  divine  wisdom,  it  v/as  a  barrier 
against  those  who  would  take  "  times  and  seasons  "  out 
of  the  Father's  hand  and  wrench  the  *'  imminency  "  from 
the  heart  and  hope  of  the  church. 

Any  preaching  which  denies  the  testimony  of  the  Apos- 
tles, impeaches  their  sincerity,  questions  the  integrity  of 
the  Son  of  God,  or  lays  Him  open  to  revision,  carries  its 
own  condemnation. 

It  is  time  to  protest  against  a  Pre-Millennialism  which 
denies  the  Imminency. 

It  is  time  to  label  it  with  the  title  it  deserves: 

"  A  device  of  Satan." 

The  Coming  of  Christ  is  both  Pre-Millennial 
AND  Imminent. 

Imminency  does  not  deny  certain  predicted  events 
which  must  be  fulfilled  before  Christ,  the  Lord,  can  come 
WITH  His  church. 

It  does  deny  fixity  in  predicted  events  in  relation  to 


IMMINENCY  AND  ATTITUDE  293 

the  church  corporately  and  individually  ere  He  comes 
FOR  His  church. 

It  puts  the  predicted  events  which  relate  to  the  church 
in  the  same  category  with  the  predicted,  but  unful- 
filled prophecy  of  the  definitely  fixed  prediction  of 
the  destruction  of  Nineveh. 

"  Yet  forty  days,  and  Nineveh  shall  be  overthrown." 
Jonah  3:8. 

Forty  days,  and  Nineveh  was  not  overthrown ;  not  be- 
cause God  fails  to  keep  faith  with  His  prophecies,  but 
because  of  a  contingency  in  the  will  and  purpose  of  God 
at  the  very  time  of  the  prediction ;  that  which  overruled 
in  respect  to  Nineveh ;  that  which  had  right  of  way  over 
the  destruction,  was  the  contingency  of  repentance. 

Imminency  makes  all  predicted  events  this  side  of  the 
Second  Coming  of  our  Lord  contingent  on  the  Lord's 
coming  for  His  church. 

The  COMING  FOR  THE  CHURCH,  LIKE  REPENTANCE  IN 
THE  PREDICTED  OVERTHROW  OF  NiNEVEH,  HAS  THE  RIGHT 
OF  WAY  OVER  ANY  PREDICTIONS  WHICH  WOULD  "  DELAY  " 
IT,  AND  IS  ALWAYS  UNDERSTOOD. 

The  distinction  between  with  and  for  is  not  without 
a  difference. 

Men  who  do  not  see  the  difference  fail  because  thev  do 
not  discern  what  and  when  the  Church  is. 

Teachers  who  make  the  Church  to  exist  before  Christ 
Himself  builds  it,  before  the  "  foundation  is  laid,"  who 
put  the  nation  of  Israel  inside  of  it  and  talk  of  the 
"  Jewish  Church,"  are  incapable  of  seeing  the  distinction. 

To  argue  with  such  is  as  useless  as  it  would  be  to  build 
a  highway  on  a  fog  bank,  or  tie  up  a  parcel  with  a  rope  of 
sand. 


294  THE   COMING    OF   CHRIST 

And  yet, 

The  distinction  is  logical,  because  in  "  the  nature  of 
things." 

It  is  in  the  nature  of  things,  because  Scriptural. 
Let  us  examine  the  Scripture  concerning  it. 


HA  poriiA 


THE  TWO-FOLD   COMING  AND 
.      THE   IMMINENCY 


"BEHOLD,  I  COME  AS  A  THIEF.  BLESSED  IS  HE 
THAT  WATCHETH."— Revelation   16:15. 

"AS  THE  LIGHTNING  SO  SHALL  ALSO  THE  COM- 
ING OF  THE  SON  OF  MAN  BE."— Matthew  24:27. 

"UNTIL  THE  DAY  DAWN,  AND  THE  DAY  STAR 
ARISE."— 2  Peter  1:19. 

"  I  AM  THE  BRIGHT  AND  THE  MORNING  STAR."— 
Revelation  22 :  16. 

"UNTO  YOU  [ISRAEL]  SHALL  THE  SUN  OF 
RIGHTEOUSNESS   ARISE."— Malachi  4:2. 

"WE  SHALL  BE  CAUGHT  UP  TO  MEET  THE  LORD 
IN  THE  AIR."— I  Thessalonians  4:17. 

"THE  LORD  MY  GOD  SHALL  COME,  AND  ALL  THE 
SAINTS  *  *  *  AND  HIS  FEET  SHALL  STAND  IN 
THAT  DAY  UPON  THE  MOUNT  OF  OLIVES."— Zecha- 
riah  14:4,5. 

"SURELY   I    COME   QUICKLY."— Revelation   22:20. 

"EVEN    SO,   COME,   LORD   JESUS."— Revelation  22:20. 


E  ni0AN  E lA 


CHAPTER  XIX 

C6e  Ctoo:=foID  Coming  anD  tfte  Smminencg 

The  Scriptures  teach  that  while  the  coming  of  Christ 
J  is  one  great  event,  it  has  two  distinct  parts  or  stages. 
'      There  is  one  stage  in  which  the  Lord  comes  for  His 
church ;  another,  in  which  He  comes  with  His  church. 

This  two-fold  Coming  is  represented,  and  intensely- 
taught,  all  through  Scripture. 

It  is  woven  into  its  warp  and  woof. 

It  is  in  accord  with  the  fundamental  law  of  two-folded- 
ness  everywhere  manifested  in  revelation. 

It  is  set  forth  in  the  types. 

A  type  is  a  stroke,  a  picture,  which  fits  and  illustrates 
even  to  details,  a  coming  event  or  a  statement  of  doctrine. 

Enoch  was  a  historic  fact,  he  is  a  living  person,  and  his 
story  predicts,  as  it  illustrates,  one  stage  of  the  Second 
Coming. 

Enoch  was  called  of  God. 

He  walked  with  Him  three  hundred  years  in  an  age  of 
growing  iniquity,  and  under  the  prophecy  of  coming 
judgments  on  a  godless  world. 

Suddenly,  without  previous  warning,  either  to  himself 
or  the  world  in  which  he  walked,  he  was  translated  from 
earth  to  Heaven. 

The  Church,  like  Enoch,  has  been  called  of  God. 

She  is  called  to  walk  in  fellowship  with  a  rejected 
Lord,  in  an  age  of  spiritual  darkness,  growing  material- 
ism, rank  unbelief  and  downright  sin,  with  the  certainty 
of  coming  judgments  against  a  Christ-rejecting  world. 
Suddenly,  without  previous  warning,  either  to  herself  or 
the  world  wherein  she  walks,  and  exactly  like  Enoch,  she 

297 


298  THE   COMING    OF   CHRIST 

will  be  "  caught  up  "  into  the  air  to  meet  her  returning 
Head,  her  Lord  and  her  God. 

Noah,  dispensationally,  is  a  type  of  the  earthly  people 
Israel,  carried  through  the  flood  waves  of  the  Great  Trib- 
ulation and  through  judgments  into  the  new  and  coming 
age. 

He  is  also  a  type  of  the  individual,  called  out  of  the 
world  of  the  first  creation,  carried  through  the  judgment 
of  the  cross,  and  put  into  the  new  creation  in  the  Second 
Man. 

But  Noah  is  more  than  this :  he  is  in  principle  the  illus- 
tration of  the  two-foldedness  of  that  Coming  which  shall 
inaugurate  the  Day  of  judgment. 

Without  previous  warning  Noah  was  called  into  the 
ark  and  the  door  was  shut. 

The  world  did  not  know  the  summons  from  Heaven 
had  come  till  the  elect  family  had  disappeared  from  sight. 

The  world  went  on  marrying  and  giving  in  marriage, 
eating  and  drinking  in  unbroken  serenity  and  lustful  grat- 
ification. 

Then  the  heavens  and  the  earth  answered  to  the  voice 
of  the  Lord,  the  wrathful  storm  broke  and  the  judgment 
fell,  sweeping  the  workers  of  iniquity  away. 

There  were  two  parts  to  this  tremendous  event. 

The  secret  taking  away  of  the  number  eight  family 
(the  chosen,  the  select,  the  resurrection  family)  and  the 
outward  downpour,  the  lightning  flash  and  judgment. 

While  the  world  is  given  over  to  its  daily  feast ;  while 
it  eats  and  drinks  and  multiplies  the  flesh,  suddenly,  with- 
out previous  warning  or  sign,  the  church  will  be  called 
into  the  "  place  prepared,"  and  the  door  will  be  shut. 

The  world  will  not  know  the  "  door  in  Heaven  "  has 
been  opened,  that  the  summons  to  "  come  up  hither  "  has 


THE   TWO-FOLD   COMING  299 

sounded  in  her  ears,  and  that  the  church  has  gone  to  be 
with  her  Lord,  till  she  has  disappeared  from  sight. 

Still  will  the  world  eat  and  drink,  yield  to  desire,  covet 
the  things  of  others,  and  yearn  that  to-morrow  shall  be  as 
to-day  and  much  more  abundant. 

Then  the  heavens  will  open. 

The  Lord  will  utter  His  glorious  voice.  Deep  shall 
call  unto  deep.  The  mountains  shall  bend  and  flow  down 
as  the  waves  of  the  sea,  all  the  earth  shall  kneel  in  His 
presence,  burn  in  His  anger,  and  be  drotvned  under  the 
fire  of  His  indescribable  wrath. 

Thus  there  will  be  the  secret  taking  away  of  the  resur- 
rection family,  the  family  of  the  eighth  day,  and  the  out- 
ward and  open  rush  of  the  swift  avenging  Lord  in  judg- 
ment. 

Lot  was  a  worldly,  unspiritual  follower  of  God. 

He  looked  towards  Sodom.  He  pitched  his  tent  to- 
wards Sodom.  He  entered  into  Sodom.  He  dwelt  in 
Sodom.  He  bought,  he  sold,  he  builded  in  Sodom.  He 
became  an  oflice  bearer  and  "  sat  in  the  gate  "  of  Sodom. 
He  vexed  his  righteous  (not  spiritual)  soul  every  day 
with  the  filthy  conversation  of  the  wicked  in  Sodom.  At 
last,  he  lost  his  testimony  in  Sodom. 

Then  the  Lord  sent  His  angels  and  "  snatched  "  him 
out  of  Sodom  in  the  "  early  morning,"  before  the  day 
fully  broke,  but  nearer  sunrise  than  star-rise. 

Then  the  flaming,  fiery  judgment  fell  on  Sodom. 

Before  the  judgment  fell  the  Lord  had  given  testimony 
that  He  could  do  nothing  against  Sodom  till  Lot  was 
brought  out  of  it. 

Lot,  unfaithful,  unspiritual  as  he  was,  held  back  the 
judgment  from  a  guilty  Sodom. 

The  church  has  a  side,  like  Lot,  worldly,  unspiritual, 


300  THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST 

and  yet  regenerate  of  God.  A  side  that  lives  in  the  world, 
is  mixed  up  with  its  ways ;  a  side,  too,  that  Hke  Lot  repu- 
diates the  uncleanness  of  the  world  and  seeks  to  make  it 
better;  a  side  of  the  church  that  tries  to  purify  poHtics, 
establish  temperance  and  regulate  society;  in  short,  a 
class  in  the  church  that  tries  day  and  night  to  "  purify 
the  flesh,"  and  make  the  doomed  Sodom  world  the  abode 
of  decency  and  morals. 

This  is  that  part  of  the  church  the  eyes  of  whose  under- 
standing have  never  been  opened. 

But  the  church  is  not  divided,  it  is  one  whether  it  be 
Bride  or  Body ;  whether  it  have  in  it  the  Christian  walking 
in  the  flesh  like  Simon,  or  the  Christian  walking  under 
law  like  James;  the  Christian  standing  in  doctrine  like 
Paul,  or  walking  in  love  like  John  and  having  visions  of 
"  things  to  come." 

This  whole  church,  suddenly,  in  the  morning  before 
sunrise,  like  Lot,  will  be  "  laid  hold  on  "  by  the  power  of 
God  and  snatched  out  of  the  world. 

Then,  in  flaming  might,  the  fiery  judgment  will  fall, 
burning  up  all  the  wealth,  the  culture,  the  sin  of  the 
Sodom  world,  and  all  the  good  works  of  righteousness, 
all  the  beautiful  "  settlement  "  syndicates  of  "  fair  show  " 
in  the  flesh,  so  expensively  established  by  the  church. 

Like  Lot,  the  church  must  be  snatched  out  of  the 

WORLD   before   THE   JUDGMENT  FALLS. 

Like  Lot,  the  church,  so  long  as  she  is  in  it,  holds 

BACK  JUDGMENT  FROM  THE  WORLD. 

There  must  be  the  first  stage,  the  taking  away  from 
judgment,  secretly. 

There  must  be  the  second  stage,  the  Coming  in  flaming 
fire,  taking  vengeance. 

Joseph  was  rejected  of  his  brethren,  cast  into  the  pit 


THE   TWO-FOLD    COMING  301 

without  water,  taken  out  alive  and  driven  as  a  refugee 
into  Egypt. 

In  Egypt  he  was  exalted  to  a  place  on  the  throne  by 
the  side  of  the  king. 

He  took  a  bride  from  among  the  Egyptians,  and  thus 
became  Jewish  lord  to  a  Gentile  woman. 

He  took  his  bride  and  placed  her  on  the  throne  with 
himself  before  the  hour  of  famine  and  tribulation  came 
upon  his  brethren. 

While  his  brethren  were  suffering  the  famine,  the  stress 
of  the  times  and  the  judgment  he  was  putting  on  them, 
his  bride  was  safe  above  all  sorrow  and  trouble  in  the 
king's  palace,  in  the  "  house  of  the  high  places." 

When  he  had  finished  his  judgment  on  his  brethren 
and  "  sealed  "  them  as  his  with  the  kiss,  he  went  forth  (as 
was  the  custom,  with  his  wife)  in  chariots  of  glory  to 
meet  the  house  of  Jacob  in  the  promised  land  of  Goshen. 

Thus  in  the  coming  of  Joseph  there  are  two  distinct 
stages. 

He  comes  for  his  bride  and  takes  her  into  the  palace, 
into  the  place  prepared  for  her,  before  the  famine  and 
tribulation  break  on  his  brethren. 

He  comes  with  her  in  manifested  glory  after  the  "  trib- 
ulation in  Israel"  to  meet  the  family  of  Jacob  in  the 
promised  land. 

The  Greater  Joseph  was  rejected  of  His  brethren  after 
the  flesh,  cast  into  the  pit  without  water  (Hades),  taken 
out  "  alive  "  and  driven  as  a  refuge  into  a  "  far  "  country 
which  is  Heaven. 

He  is  now  seated  on  His  Father's  throne. 

During  the  time  of  session  on  the  Father's  throne  He 
is  calling  out  from  among  the  Gentiles  a  bride  for  His 
name,  the  Church. 


302  THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST 

Before  the  Tribulation,  "  the  Great  one,"  comes  upon 
His  brethren.  He  will  take  the  church,  as  His  bride  under 
the  first  espousals,  into  the  "  heavenly  places  "  in  associa- 
tion with  Himself  on  the  throne. 

While  the  Jews  are  passing  through  the  stress  of  times, 
"  such  as  was  not  sin-ce  the  beginning  of  the  world  to  this 
time,  no,  nor  ever  shall  be,"  the  church  will  be  safe  above 
all  sorrow  in  the  "  place  prepared." 

When  He  has  finished  the  dealing  with  His  brethren 
and  sealed  them  with  His  seal,  He  will  come  forth  with 
the  church,  His  wife  under  the  second  espousals,  in 
chariots  of  glory  to  the  Promised  Land. 

Two-foldedness  is  the  teaching  here,  both  in  type  and 
antitype ;  they  fit  each  other  in  the  law  of  the  analogue  as 
hand  and  glove,  and  each  bears  conclusive  witness  of  the 
other. 

Two-foldedness  is  the  thought  which  leaps  along  all 
the  lines  proclaiming  the  Coming  of  our  Lord. 

The  symbols  proclaim  it. 

The  morning  star  is  a  symbol. 

The  rising  sun  is  a  symbol. 

The  morning  star  comes  before  the  sun. 

It  gives  no  shattering,  awakening  signs  of  its  coming. 

It  comes  at  the  hour  when  the  night  is  disputing  with 
the  morn. 

It  comes  when  all  the  lowlands  are  in  depths  of  dark- 
ness, when  the  mountain  peaks  stand  out  against  a  trem- 
ulous sky,  and  the  myriad  stars  seem  like  the  eyes  of 
watchers  waiting  for  the  dawn.  . 

It  descends  with  noiseless  softness  towards  the  sleep- 
ing earth,  like  a  golden  lamp  let  down  by  an  invisible 
chain. 

It  poises  itself  for  a  brief  moment  on  the  rim  of  the 


THE  TWO-FOLD   COMING  303 

night  and  the  rim  of  the  morning,  like  a  note  of  unuttered 
song. 

It  quivers  there  for  a  space  as  though  it  were  a  tear 
from  the  eye  of  God,  sorrowing  that  so  many  should  sleep 
and  miss  the  one  transition  hour  from  darkness  into  light. 

It  disappears  and  the  earth  seems  full  of  a  strange 
hush. 

Then  there  are  mists  that  rise  like  wraiths  above  the 
streams. 

Shadows  and  shapes  come  and  go. 

Voices  are  calling  to  each  other. 

Things  are  in  motion  and  undefined. 

The  star  has  come  and  gone  and  the  interval  between 
the  star  and  the  sun  is  on. 

The  sun  comes  after  the  star  has  gone. 

He  comes  like  one  who  has  a  bow,  and  he  goes  forth 
conquering  and  to  conquer. 

He  shoots  his  gleaming  arrows  upward  and  they  fall 
slanting  into  the  eyes  of  men  and  waken  them. 

All  the  heavens  own  the  coming. 

They  turn  into  rose  and  amber  and  purple  of  amethyst ; 
they  flame  and  flash,  they  seem  to  swoon  in  glory  till  the 
edge  of  Heaven  and  the  edge  of  the  earth  melt  into  one 
undefined,  shivering,  unequal  line  of  splendor;  all  the 
land  is  flooded  and  drowned  in  light,  and  every  moun- 
tain, every  valley  is  disclosed. 

The  world  and  all  that  is  therein  know  that  the  Lord 
of  the  Day  has  come. 

The  coming  of  the  day  has  been  one,  but  the  manner  of 
its  coming  has  been  two. 

These  symbols  have  been  applied  by  divine  authority 
to  the  Coming  of  Christ. 

His  Coming  is  compared  to  the  morning  star. 


304  THE   COMING    OF   CHRIST 

Hear  His  own  Word: 

"  I  am  the  bright  and  morning  star."  Revelation  22 :  16. 

He  will  come  like  that  bright  and  morning  star. 

He  will  come  while  the  night  of  sin  is  disputing  with 
the  morn  of  holiness  and  truth. 

He  will  come  when  all  the  low  places  of  the  earth  are 
in  deepest  darkness ;  when  the  mountain  heights  of  human 
pride  stand  out  in  their  self-appointed  majesty  against  an 
awakened  and  thrilling  Heaven,  while  the  eyes  of  unseen 
and  uncounted  angels  wait  for  the  dawn. 

He  will  descend  in  noiseless  softness  as  the  still- 
descending  star,  towards  the  earth  that  sleeps  in  blind 
indifference  to  His  looks  of  love. 

He  will  wait  a  brief  space  between  the  midnight  and 
the  morn. 

He  will  call,  but  it  will  be  unheard  save  by  those  who 
have  walked  in  His  reflected  light  and  owned  His 
name. 

Then  He  will  withdraw  as  the  morning  star  seems  to 
fade  away,  and  the  interval  between  star-rise  and  sun- 
rise will  be  on. 

His  Coming  is  compared  to  the  sunrise. 

Hear  the  words  of  the  prophet: 

"  But  unto  you  that  fear  my  name  shall  the  Sun  of 
righteousness  arise  with  healing  in  his  wings."  Malachi 
4:2. 

He  will  come,  a  bow  will  be  given  unto  Him,  and  He 
shall  go  forth  conquering  and  to  conquer. 

There  will  be  the  "  light  of  his  arrows  and  the  shining 
of  his  glittering  spear." 

His  judgments  will  shoot  athwart  the  earth,  piercing 
the  sons  of  men  till  they  cry  out  to  the  rocks  and  the 
mountains  to  fall  on  them,  and  hide  thero  from  the  face 


THE   TWO-FOLD   COMING  305 

of  Him,  whose  countenance  shineth  as  the  sun  in  his 
strength. 

All  the  heavens  will  own  His  Coming. 

They  shall  turn  into  pavilions  of  splendor. 

The  glory  of  color  shall  be  beyond  the  naming  of 
names. 

Over  all  shall  be  the  gleaming  of  the  "  terrible  crystal." 

Underneath,  the  clouds  shall  be  the  dust  of  His  feet. 

The  glance  of  His  eye  shall  be  as  the  brandishing  of 
swords,  and  the  looks  of  His  anger  shall  be  as  the  burn- 
ing of  worlds. 

The  great  and  the  small,  the  mean  and  the  mighty, 
shall  be  openly  known ;  those  who  have  passed  for  men 
and  those  who  have  passed  for  women,  multitudes  who 
have  passed  for  human,  will  be  seen  to  be  but  different 
broods  of  the  same  serpent,  that  old  serpent  which  is  the 
Devil  and  Satan. 

Every  secret  sin  shall  throw  off  its  clothing  and  stand 
stripped  and  naked  till  every  eye  in  Heaven,  in  earth  and 
hell,  shall  see  sin  in  all  its  cancerous,  leprous,  filth-beget- 
ting shamelessness  and  putrid  rottenness ;  where  every 
outline  is  a  lie,  every  fibre  a  deceit,  every  beat  of  the  heart 
a  trick  and  all  the  pulses  a  smothering  flow  of  hot,  fetid 
lust,  each  inclination  to  wickedness  giving  birth  to  a 
thousand  concepts  of  unspeakable  debauchery  and  denial 
of  God. 

He  shall  rise  with  healing  in  His  wings. 

Aye! 

But  the  healing  shall  be  the  health  of  fire  consuming 
iniquity,  the  fire  that  leaves  neither  root  nor  branch  of 
evil. 

The  world  and  all  that  is  therein  shall  know  that  the 
God  of  the  Day  has  come. 


3o6  THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST 

The  Coming  of  the  Christ  of  God  will  be  but  one 
coming,  but  the  manner  thereof  will  be  two. 

It  will  be  as  star-rise  and  sunrise. 

The  Coming  of  Christ  is  compared  to  the  coming  of  a 
thief  in  the  night. 

It  is  compared  to  the  lightning  that  flashes  from  one 
end  of  Heaven  to  the  other. 

The  thief  comes  between  the  midnight  and  the  morn. 

He  comes  with  softest  tread,  without  noise,  without 
light,  without  warning,  and  he  comes  to  rob. 

He  comes  to  steal  away  the  jewel  of  great  price. 

Men  are  unaware  of  the  event  till  he  has  come  and 
gone  and  the  precious, jewels  have  disappeared  with  him. 

The  Lord  Himself  says  that  He  will  descend  like  a 
thief. 

Therefore  He  will  come  with  softest  tread,  without 
noise,  without  light,  and  He  will  come  to  rob. 

He  will  come  to  steal  away  a  great  jewel,  the  pearl  of 
"  great  price,"  the  Church. 

The  world  will  not  know  that  He  has  come  till  the 
church  has  disappeared. 

The  Coming  of  Christ  is  compared  to  lightning. 

"  For  as  the  lightning  cometh  out  of  the  east,  and 
shineth  even  unto  the  west;  so  shall  also  the  coming  of 
the  Son  of  man  be."    Matthew  24 :  2y. 

Lightning  reveals  the  heavens  and  all  the  earth  below. 

Its  coming  is  with  the  voice  of  many  thunders. 

Every  eye  sees !  every  ear  hears. 

All  know  that  the  Lord  of  the  earth  is  abroad  in  His 
might. 

As  the  lightning  so  shall  also  the  Coming  of  the  Son 
of  man  be. 


THE   TWO-FOLD   COMING  307 

The  sound  of  His  voice  shall  be  as  the  thunder,  and  as 
the  sound  of  many  waters. 

Every  ear  shall  hear  and  every  heart  shall  quake. 

His  glance  shall  be  as  the  forked  lightnings  that  dart 
across  the  bared  bosom  of  the  illumined  sky. 

The  air  shall  be  sulphurous  with  the  weight  of  His 
anger,  and  whithersoever  He  turns  the  lightnings  will 
follow. 

All  shall  know  from  the  least  to  the  greatest  that  the 
Lord,  the  living  God,  hath  risen  up  to  the  prey. 

The  thief  comes  in  order  before  the  lightning. 

A  thief  comes  not  when  every  flash  may  reveal  him ;  he 
comes  not  when  every  thunder  crash  awakes  a  new  wit- 
ness to  identify  him. 

There  is  but  one  Coming,  but  two-fold  and  as  distinct 
in  manner,  as  the  coming  of  a  thief  is  distinct  from  the 
coming  of  the  lightning. 

This  two-fold  Coming  is  set  forth  by  two  Greek  words. 

sTZKpavsia,  epiphaneia. 

napou<sia,  parousia. 

Parousia  occurs  twenty-four  times  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment. 

It  comes  from  a  verb  which  means  to  be  "  at  hand," 
"  to  be  present." 

The  noun  signifies  "  Presence." 

Epiphaneia  is  to  be  found  six  times. 

It  comes  from  a  word  which  signifies  "  to  appear,"  "  to 
manifest." 

The  noun  is  "  manifestation,"  "  brightness." 

Both  words  occur  in  a  notable  verse : 

"  Then  shall  that  Wicked  be  revealed,  whom  the  Lord 
shall  consume  with  the  Spirit  of  his  mouth,  and  shall  de- 


3o8  THE   COMING    OF   CHRIST 

stroy  with  the  brightness  (epiphaneia)  of  his  coming 
(parousia)." 

Actually  translated  the  verse  reads : 

"  The  manifestation  of  His  presence," 

He  can  manifest  His  presence,  and  manifest  it  with  a 
brightness  above  the  noon-day  sun. 

Yonder,  on  the  mount  of  Transfiguration,  He  suddenly 
shone  before  His  disciples  till  the  midnight  became  as 
the  midnoon  of  a  cloudless  sun ;  yonder,  above  the  road  to 
Damascus,  so  close  to  Paul  and  unseen,  then  shining  out 
till  the  glory  of  the  shining  blinded  him  and  made  him 
fall  from  his  horse  prone  in  the  dust  of  the  highway; 
yonder  at  Patmos  when  He  appeared  unto  John  and  so 
blazed  forth  in  the  manifestation  of  His  presence  that 
the  disciple  fell  at  His  feet  as  one  dead  with  the  weight 
of  the  glory. 

He  can  be  present  and  yet  unmanifested,  as  yonder  at 
the  foot  of  the  golden  ladder  Jacob  slept  with  a  stone  for 
a  pillow  and  awakening,  cried  out : 

"  Surely  the  Lord  is  in  this  place,  and  I  knew  it  not." 
Genesis  28 :  16. 

The  manifested  and  unmanifested  presence  of  the 
Lord. 

The  Lord  present  and  no  one  aware  of  it;  then  sud- 
denly revealed  and  every  eye  beholding  Him. 

This  is  the  teaching  of  the  two  words,  epiphaneia  and 
parousia. 

As  these  two  words  are  both  applied  to  the  Second 
Coming;  as  this  great  event  is  spoken  of  both  as  His 
epiphaneia  and  His  parousia,  and  the  difference  between 
seen  and  unseen,  between  manifested  and  unmanifested 
is  absolute;  as  they  are  two  things  as  well  as  one,  two 
things  as  to  manner  and  capable  of  being  applied  to  the 


THE   TWO-FOLD   COMING  309 

same  thing  as  a  fact;  as  both  are  appHed  to  the  fact  of 
His  Coming,  then  the  Coming  of  Christ  has  two  distinct 
parts ;  one  part  in  which  He  is  manifested ;  another  part 
in  which  He  is  unmanifested. 

The  two  words  stamp  and  seal  with  the  authority  of 
inspired  philology,  the  doctrine  that  the  Coming  of  Christ, 
while  one  great  event,  has  two  separate  parts. 

Not  only  is  the  two-fold  Coming  of  Christ  taught  by 
types,  figures,  symbols  and  specially  inspired  words,  it  is 
also  taught  by  a  direct  and  special  revelation  from 
Heaven. 

Paul  receives  this  revelation  "  in  a  word  of  the  Lord  " 
and  writes  the  same  to  the  church  at  Thessalonica. 

He  writes: 

"  For  the  Lord  himself  shall  descend  from  heaven  with 
a  shout,  with  the  voice  of  the  archangel,  and  with  the 
trump  of  God :  and  the  dead  in  Christ  shall  rise  first : 

"  Then  we  which  are  alive  and  remain,  shall  be  caught 
up  together  with  them  in  the  clouds,  to  meet  the  Lord  in 
the  air." 

Paul  here  declares  that  the  Lord  will  descend  into  the 
air. 

In  the  prophet  Zechariah  the  Lord  is  represented  as 
descending  to  the  earth : 

"  Then  shall  the  Lord  go  forth,  and  fight  against  those 
nations,  as  when  he  fought  in  the  day  of  battle. 

"  And  his  feet  shall  stand  in  that  day  upon  the  mount  of 
Olives." 

The  Apostle  and  the  prophet  are  both  speaking  of 
the  same  immense  event,  the  Second  Coming  of  our 
Lord. 

Each  speaks  of  a  different  part. 

Paul  speaks  of  the  descent  of  the  Lord  into  the  air. 


310  THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST 

The  prophet  speaks  of  His  descent  on  down  to  the 
earth. 

In  the  very  nature  of  the  case  He  must  come  into  the 
air  before  He  comes  down  to  the  earth. 

That  which  is  before  another  thing  is  first. 

The  coming  into  the  air  then  is  first ;  as  the  coming 
into  the  air  is  first,  the  coming  down  to  the  ground  must 
be  second. 

As  they  both  refer  to  the  Second  Coming,  they  must  be 
parts  of  the  Second  Coming;  they  are  therefore  the  first 
and  second  parts  of  the  Coming. 

The  Second  Coming  of  Christ  then  has  two  parts ;  the 
first  part  is  into  the  air,  the  second  part  is  down  to  the 
mount  of  OHves. 

It  requires  very  Httle  effort  to  see  that  in  the  first  part 
the  Lord  comes  to  His  "  saints  " ;  it  requires  no  more 
effort  to  see  that  in  the  second  part  He  comes  to  the 
"  nations." 

It  is  plain  enough  that  in  the  first  part  He  comes  for 
His  Church ;  it  is  equally  plain  that  in  the  second  part  He 
comes  with  all  His  saints. 

The  event  is  one. 

The  stages  are  two. 

The  two  stages  are  as  distinct  as  "  the  air,"  and  "  the 
mount  of  Olives." 

The  two-fold  coming  is  fully  set  forth  in  Saint  Paul's 
second  epistle  to  the  Thessalonians. 

There  were  troublers  about  the  Second  Coming  then 
as  there  are  now. 

The  Apostle  writes: 

"  The  Lord  Jesus  shall  be  revealed  from  heaven  with 
his  mighty  angels,  in  flaming  fire  taking  vengeance  on 


THE   TWO-FOLD    COMING  ,311 

them  that  know  not  God,  and  that  obey  not  the  gospel  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ : 

"  Who  shall  be  punished  with  everlasting  destruction 
frdm  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  and  from  the  glory  of  his 
power ; 

"  When  he  shall  come  to  be  glorified  in  his 
SAINTS."     2  Thessalonians  i :  7-10. 

The  Apostle  speaking  by  the  Spirit  here  says  three 
things : 

1.  The  Lord  Jesus  will  be  revealed  from  heaven  with 
His  mighty  angels  in  flaming  fire. 

2.  In  that  flaming,  fiery  revelation  He  will  punish  the 
ungodly  and  the  disobedient. 

3.  This  revelation  in  fire  and  the  punishment  of  the 
ungodly  and  the  disobedient  will  take  place  when  the 
Lord  shall  come  to  be  glorified  in  His  saints. 

According  to  the  present  translation  the  Apostle  ap- 
pears to  make  the  statement  of  the  last  proposition. 

But  he  only  appears  to  do  so.  He  does  not  actually 
do  so. 

The  correct  rendering  of  the  Greek  form  of  the  word 
he  uses  will  make  it  very  clear  what  he  actually  says. 

The  verb  rendered  in  the  future,  "  shall  come,"  is  the 
subjunctive  aorist,  and  requires  to  be  translated: 

"  Shall  have  come." 

The  Apostle  then  says  the  Lord  will  be  revealed  from 
Heaven  in  flaming  fire,  and  will  punish  those  who  do  not 
know  God  and  who  do  not  obey  the  Gospel,  when  He 

SHALL  HAVE  COME  TO  BE  GLORIFIED  IN  HiS  SAINTS. 

That  is  to  say,  necessarily: 

After  He  has  come  and  has  been  glorified  in  His 

SAINTS. 


3a. ^  THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST 

Thus  the  statement  of  the  Apostle  is  simplified  into  two 
propositions : 

1.  The  Lord  is  coming  with  His  mighty  angels  in 
flaming  fire  to  punish  those  who  know  not  God  and  obey 
not  the  Gospel. 

2.  He  is  coming  in  this  revelation  of  fire  from 
Heaven,  after  He  has  come  and  been  glorified  in  His 

SAINTS. 

The  Apostle  therefore  teaches  that  there  is  a  Coming 
to  be  glorified  in  the  saints  before  there  is  a  Coming  to 
punish  the  ungodly  and  the  sinner. 

There  is  a  Coming  to  be  glorified  in  the  saints  before 
there  is  a  revelation  in  fire. 

A  Coming  to  be  glorified  in  the  saints! 

There  is  only  one  way  in  which  Christ  can  be  glorified 
in  His  saints  at  His  Coming ;  and  that  is,  according  to  the 
Apostle  Paul,  by  "  the  redemption  of  the  body."  Romans 
8:28. 

The  redemption  of  the  body  is  by  the  resurrection  of 
the  dead  and  the  transfiguration  of  the  living. 

Paul  has  testified  in  his  previous  epistle  that  this  resur- 
rection of  the  dead  saints  and  the  transfiguration  of  the 
living  takes  place  when  the  Lord  descends  into  the  air. 

I  Thessalonians  4:15-18,  therefore,  is  a  picture  of 
Christ  coming  to  he  glorified  in  His  saints. 

The  Revelation  in  lire  comes  after  the  glorification  of 
the  Lord  in  His  saints ;  and  is  a  second  part  of  the  Com- 
ing. As  the  second  part  of  the  Coming  is  the  descent  of 
the  Lord  with  all  His  mighty  host,  according  to  Zecha- 
riah,  to  the  mount  of  Olives,  this  revelation  from  Heaven 
in  flaming  fire  of  which  Paul  testifies,  is  precisely  the 
same  revelation  of  which  the  prophet  speaks. 

If  in  the  first  epistle  to  the  Thessalonians  the_  Apostle 


THE   TWO-FOLD   COMING  313 

sets  before  us  the  first  part  of  the  Coming  of  the  Lord,  in 
this  passage  under  consideration  in  the  second  epistle  (2 
Thessalonians  i :  7-10)  he  sets  before  us  both  the  stages 
or  parts  of  the  one  Coming. 

1.  The  Coming  of  the  Lord  to  be  glorified  in  His 
saints. 

2.  The  coming  in  flaming  fire  with  all  His  saints  to 
punish  the  ungodly  and  the  disobedient. 

But  not  only  so ! 

The  Coming  to  be  glorified  in  the  saints  takes  place 
before  the  Lord  is  "  revealed  from  Heaven."    Verse  7. 

To  be  revealed  in  flaming  fire  is  to  be  visible  to  the 
world. 

Any  coming  before  that  revelation  must  be  invisible  to 
the  world. 

Thus  Paul  teaches,  not  only  that  the  Coming  of  Christ 
has  two  distinct  stages,  but  that  the  first  stage  is  invisible 
to  the  world. 

He  teaches  that  there  is  a  secret  and  an  open  coming. 

In  this  the  Apostle  agrees  with,  coincides  with,  and 
corroborates  the  testimony  of  the  Lord,  that  there  is  a 
part  of  His  Second  Coming  which  is  as  the  coming  of  a 
thief. 

As  the  fiery  revelation  cannot  be  the  part  in  which  the 
Lord  comes  as  a  thief,  then  His  thief-like  Coming  must 
be  the  first  part,  the  part  where  He  descends  into  the  air 
for  His  church. 

When  the  Lord,  therefore,  comes  for  His  church, 

His  descent  into  the  air  will  be  like  a  thief  and 
invisible  to  the  world. 

The  Apostle  emphasizes  these  two  parts  in  the  follow- 
ing chapter. 

"  Now  we  beseech  you  brethren,  by  the  coming  of  our 


314  THE   COMING    OF   CHRIST 

Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  by  our  gathering  together  unto 
him."    2  Thessalonians  2:1. 

The  Apostle  beseeches  by  two  things. 

1.  By  the  Coming  of  the  Lord. 
The  word  "  coming,"  is  "  parousia." 

2.  By  our  gathering  together  unto  Him. 

This  gathering  together  unto  Him  is  precisely  what  the 
Apostle  has  taught  in  the  previous  epistle : 

"  We  shall  be  caught  up  together  to  meet  the  Lord  in 
the  air."    i  Thessalonians  4 :  17. 

The  Apostle  then  in  the  second  epistle  gives  a  distinctive 
title  to  the  first  part  of  the  Coming ;  it  is,  "  Our  gathering 
together  unto  Him." 

The  second  epistle  gives  us  two  distinct  titles  for  both 
parts. 

1.  The  first  part  is,  "  Our  gathering  together  unto 
Him."    2  Thessalonians  2:1. 

2.  The  second  part,  "  Revealed  from  Heaven."  2 
Thessalonians  i :  7. 

We  may  now  go  back  and  in  the  light  of  this  testimony 
read  Colossians  3 :  3,  4. 

"  For  ye  are  dead  [ye  died]  and  your  life  is  hid  with 
Christ  in  God. 

"  When  Christ  who  is  our  life,  shall  appear,  then  shall 
ye  also  appear  with  him  in  glory." 

The  Church  is  to  appear  wi//t  Christ  in  glory;  from 
what  we  have  learned,  it  is  necessary  that  the  church,  as 
a  church,  shall  be  caught  up  to  meet  the  Lord,  shall  be 
gathered  together  unto  Him. 

The  thought  of  secrecy,  invisibility,  in  the  first  part  of 
the  Coming,  is  taught  in  the  statement  that  so  far  as  this 
old  creation  is  concerned,  we  "  died,"  and  our  life  is  now 
hidden  with  the  Head  of  the  new  creation,  in  God. 


THE   TWO-FOLD    COMING  315 

That  is  our  standing  before  God  now,  "  Hidden." 

That  is  the  standing  of  the  Church,  she  is  hidden,  as 
to  her  real  estate,  from  the  world. 

She  will  only  come  out  from  this  hiding  when  she 
appears  with  the  Lord  in  glory. 

This  is  the  thought  in  the  Apostle  John : 

"  It  doth  not  yet  appear  what  we  shall  be."    i  John  3 :  2. 

There  can  be  no  appearance,  no  manifestation  of  the 
church  this  side  of  the  revelation  from  Heaven. 

To  make  the  going  up  of  the  church  as  a  body  to  meet 
the  Lord,  open  and  public,  would  be  to  destroy  the  whole 
structure  of  doctrine  concerning  the  Church. 

The  final  testimony  as  to  the  two-fold  Coming  of  Christ 
is  set  before  us  scenically  and  denionstratively  in  the 
book  of  the  Revelation. 

In  the  first  chapter  of  the  Revelation  we  have  the 
things  which  John  saw. 

In  the  second  and  third  chapters  we  have  "  the  things 
that  are  now " ;  that  is,  the  history  of  the  professing 
church  while  the  Lord  is  away. 

Then  we  come  to  the  fourth  chapter. 

There  we  find  twenty- four  elders  seated  on  thrones  and 
crowned. 

In  the  fifth  chapter  the  Elders  testify  that  they  have 
been  redeemed  by  the  blood  of  the  Lamb  out  of  every 
nation,  people,  kindred  and  tongue. 

These  kingly  and  priestly  elders  represent  the  church 
of  Christ. 

They  are  there  not  as  spirits  but  as  embodied  beings. 

They  are  there  because  in  the  fourth  chapter  a  door  in 
Heaven  was  opened  and  a  voice  like  a  trumpet  (the  resur- 
rection and  transfiguration  trump)  bade  them  "  Come  up 
hither." 


3i6  THE    COMING    OF    CHRIST 

In  the  fifth  chapter  the  church  sings  the  songs  of  re- 
demption and  rule,  anticipating  the  moment  when  she 
will  go  forth  with  the  Lord  to  set  up  the  promised  king- 
dom on  the  earth. 

Chapters  fourth  and  fifth  correspond  exactly  with  i 
Thessalonians  4:  16,  17. 

In  the  fifth  chapter  the  church  stands  with  her  Lord 
on  the  threshold  of  the  hardening  judgments  about  to 
break  on  the  earth. 

From  the  fifth  chapter  to  the  nineteenth,  there  are  four- 
teen chapters. 

In  these  twice  seven  chapters  we  have  an  account  of 
the  hardening  judgments  of  God  against  the  earth,  and 
the  course  of  the  Great  Tribulation. 

The  seals  are  broken,  the  judgments  follow. 

Trumpets  are  blown. 

Vials  of  wrath  are  poured  out. 

The  Antichrist  arises. 

He  runs  his  terrific  course. 

We  see  two  companies.  A  sealed  company  of  Israel, 
an  elect  number,  and  a  multitude  of  Gentiles  that  no  man 
can  number. 

Not  once  is  the  word  "  church  "  found  written  in  any 
of  these  chapters. 

Never  is  the  thought  of  the  church  even  hinted. 

We  read  through  the  awful  lines.  We  gaze  at  the 
terrible  spectacle. 

We  hear  the  crash  of  heavens,  the  quaking  of  the  earth, 
the  moan  of  the  sea,  opening  of  the  pit,  the  coming  forth 
of  demons,  we  see  the  leering  face  of  the  son  of  Perdi- 
tion, the  peering  face  of  his  father,  the  Devil. 

Not  once  in  all  this  do  we  catch  the  shadow  of  the 
church. 


THE  TWO-FOLD   COMING  317 

Always  we  hear  a  voice  bidding  us  note  the  difference 
between  the  "  dwellers  in  Heaven  "  and  the  "  dwellers  on 
the  earth." 

In  the  thirteenth  chapter  we  are  told  that  these  "  dwell- 
ers in  Heaven  "  are  the  tabernacle  of  God. 

The  tabernacle  of  God  is  the  church.  "  In  whom  ye 
also  are  bullded  together  for  an  habitation  of  God  through 
the  Spirit."    Ephesians  2 :  22. 

The  church  as  the  tabernacle  of  God  is  dwelling  in 
Heaven  while  the  Antichrist  is  raging  in  blasphemy 
below. 

"  And  he  opened  his  mouth  in  blasphemy  against  God, 
to  blaspheme  his  name,  and  his  tabernacle,  and  [omit 
and^  THEM  THAT  DWELL  IN  Heaven."    Revclatlon  13:6. 

We  get  to  the  nineteenth  chapter. 

We  hear  the  sound  of  marriage  bells. 

We  learn  that  the  Lamb  has  a  bride,  and  that  the  hour 
of  full  marriage  has  come. 

The  Bride  is  the  Tabernacle. 

The  Tabernacle  is  composed  of  the  dwellers  in 
Heaven. 

The  dwellers  in  Heaven  are  the  twenty-four  elders. 

These  twenty-four  elders  are  the  warriors  on  white 
horses  who  come  out  of  Heaven,  following  their  Lord. 

A  Bride,  a  Tabernacle,  Dwellers  in  Heaven,  Kings  and 
Priests,  Living  creatures.  Enthroned  elders,  an  Army  on 
horses  ? 

Yea !  and  Amen ! 

The  church  always  follows  the  transformations  of  her 
Lord. 

When  He  is  rejected,  she  has  no  home  on  the  earth  and 
is  but  a  "  pilgrim  and  stranger,"  "  filling  up  that  which  is 
behind  of  the  afflictions  of  Christ  for  his  body's  sake." 


3i8  THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST 

When  He  is  the  risen  One,  she  is  "  seated  in  Heavenly 
places  "  in  Him.  When  He  is  the  Bridegroom,  she  is  the 
Bride.  When  He  is  a  King,  she  is  a  company  of  kings.. 
When  He  comes  forth  as  a  man  of  war,  she  is  an  army  of 
warriors. 

Whatever  may  be  the  form,  always  after  the  fourth 
chapter  you  find  her  in  Heaven. 

You  see  her  in  the  fourth  and  fifth  chapters  in  Heaven. 
You  get  a  glimpse  of  her  in  the  thirteenth  chapter  in 
Heaven.    In  the  nineteenth  you  see  her  in  Heaven. 

Take  a  searchlight.  Take  all  suns  and  moons  and 
stars,  break  the  rim  of  the  Milky  Way  and  pour  the 
packed  light  of  its  infinite  depths  of  light  into  every 
crevice  of  the  time  below ;  search  every  path  on  earth  in 
mountains  and  valleys,  in  cities  and  towns,  the  near  and 
the  far,  between  the  fourth  chapter  where  she  goes  up 
into  Heaven  and  the  nineteenth  chapter  where  she  comes 
down  from  Heaven,  and  you  can  find  no  trace  of  her  on 
earth,  or  amid  the  things  of  earth. 

No !  the  more  you  search  the  more  clear  it  will  become 
that  between  the  "  open  door  "  through  which  she  passes 
into  Heaven,  and  the  "  open  door  "  through  which  she 
comes  forth  with  her  Lord  from  Heaven,  there  is  a  dis- 
tinct interval  in.  which  history  on  earth  is  marked  by  her 
absence. 

The  more  you  study  this  wide  painting  of  the  Apoca- 
lypse the  more  clear  it  will  become  that  there  is  a  going 
up  of  the  church  into  Heaven,  the  interval  of  absence 
from  the  earth,  and  the  coming  down  again. 

The  more  you  pour  on  the  light  the  more  plainly  it  will 
be  revealed  that  there  is  a  coming  for  the  church  and  a 
coming  mith  the  church. 

The  more  you  study  the  fourteen  chapters  of  the  in- 


THE  TWO-FOLD   COMING  319 

terval  between  the  fifth  and  the  nineteenth,  the  more  it 
will  be  evident  that  a  faithful  Lord  has  kept  His  promise 
to  deliver  her  from  the  hour  of  temptation  coming  on 
the  earth ;  and  that  if  He  comes  for  her  in  secret  faithful- 
ness and  love,  He  will  keep  her  above  the  storm  in  the 
place  prepared,  that  He  may  bring  her  forth  again  to 
share  the  peace  that  follows  the  departing  storm. 

The  tremendous  movement  of  the  scene  from  the  fourth 
chapter  to  the  nineteenth  is  the  high  and  lifted  declaration 
that  while  the  Coming  has  these  two  stages  and  the  un- 
speakable break  between,  the  Coming  itself  is  but  one 
event. 

The  thesis  abides: 

The  Coming  of  Christ  while  one  event  has  two  distinct 
stages :  a  first  stage  in  which  He  comes  for  His  church,  a 
second  stage  in  which  He  comes  with  His  church. 

The  examination  of  Scripture  leaves  no  room  tp  ques- 
tion the  proposition. 

The  first  stage  of  the  Coming  of  Christ  has  to  do  in 
general  with  the  dead  saints  of  all  ages,  and  exclusively, 
with  the  living  church  alive  at  His  coming. 

The  first  part  of  the  Coming  is  imminent. 

It  is  imminent  because: 

I.     The  church  is  not  a  time  thing. 

She  is  neither  of  time  or  earth. 

She  was  chosen  in  Christ  before  the  foundation  of  the 
world. 

She  is  seen  of  God  now  as  already  risen  and  seated  in 
heavenly  places  in  Christ  Jesus. 

That  is  her  position  before  God. 

Outside  of  time  and  outside  of  earth. 

In  eternity,  unbegun  and  unending. 

In  Heaven,  above  earth  and  all  its  history. 


320  THE   COMING    OF   CHRIST 

That  which  is  above  earth  and  time  can  be  held  by 
neither. 

To  put  the  church  under  bonds  to  time  and  history  is, 
to  deny  her  as  the  risen  and  ascended  one,  bring  her  down 
to  the  earth,  cut  off  her  relation  to  eternity,  and  stamp 
her  as  of  the  passing  flesh,  and  no  more. 

No  prophecy  that  concerns  time  can  be  binding  on  the 
church,  either  corporately  or  individually ;  to  bind  her 
with  times,  seasons  or  events,  is  as  useless  as  the  green 
withes  that  bound  a  Samson. 

To  insist  on  £xity  for  the  church  in  time  is  to  cut  off 
both  ends  of  eternity  from  her  and  make  her  a  temporal 
thing,  tossed  on  the  wave  of  the  breaking  years. 

Oh !  no ! 

The  first  stage  then  is  imminent  because  there  is  no 
time  gauge  to  hold  her  from  a  yearning  Lord. 

The  first  stage  is  imminent  because : 

2.  Every  prophecy  made  in  time  concerning  the  church 
(before  the  second  stage  can  be  reached)  is  contingent 
on  the  promise  of  the  Lord  to  come  in  an  unknown  hour 
with  His  thief-like  step. 

This  contingency  of  the  unknown  Coming, 

This  contingency  of  the  thief-like  Coming, 

This  contingency  of  the  morning  star  Coming,  have 

the   RIGHT  OF   WAY  OVER  ALL  THINGS   THIS   SIDE  OF   COM- 
PLETE REDEMPTION. 

Peter  will  die,  Paul  will  go  to  Rome,  he  will  be  "  offered 
up,"  false  teachers  will  arise,  Thyatira  and  Sardis,  Phila- 
delphia and  Laodicea  will  become  full  blown — if,  if,  if 
THE  Lord  does  not  come  for  His  Church  like  the 

THIEF   IN   THE   NIGHT. 

A  thief  disregards  all  the  regulations  and  the  rules 
made  concerning  the  household  during  the  night. 


THE  TWO-FOLD   COMING  321 

As  a  thief,  the  first  part  of  the  Coming  will  disregard 
every  prophecy,  every  predicted  event  made  concerning 
the  Household  of  faith  in  this  deepening  spiritual  night. 

There  is  a  fixed  interval  between  the  first  stage  and 
the  second. 

Between  us  and  the  first  stage  there  is  no  fixed  interval. 

There  are  no  fixed  events. 

Not  one  thing  that  is  not  contingent. 

Between  us  and  the  second  stage  there  is  a  fixed  in- 
terval of  at  least  seven  years  (Daniel's  seventieth  week). 

In  this  fixed  interval  the  Spirit  of  God  places  all  the 
fixed  events  which  are  to  find  their  fulfillment  and  climax 
at  the  Appearing  and  glory. 

The  Church  stands  related  to  the  first  stage. 

Israel  to  the  second. 


Israel  is  to  be  looking  for  "  signs." 

Signs !  signs !  signs ! 

Signs  in  the  Heavens ! 

Signs  in  the  earth ! 

Signs  in  the  sea ! 

Signs  under  the  sea;  from  the  depths  of  the  under- 
world whose  threshold  is  under  the  sea ! 

Israel  is  to  be  looking  for  the  sign  of  the  Son  of  man 
in  Heaven ;  for  His  appearing  as  Messiah  and  King. 

The  Church  is  never  to  be  looking  for  signs  ! 

Never !  never !  never ! 

How  can  she  look  for  signs  ? 

Did  it  never  occur  to  you  that  the  church  has  no  natural 
eyes  with  which  to  look  for  signs? 

How  can  she  look  to  the  heavens  or  the  earth  if  she 
has  no  natural  eyesight  ? 

Surely  you  know  that  the  church  does  not  walk  by 
sight. 


322  THE   COMING    OF   CHRIST 

Have  we  been  hearing  all  these  years  that  solemn  and 
yet  magnificent  declaration  of  natural  blindness  on  the 
part  of  the  church  and  not  owning  it  as  a  fact  whose  value 
reaches  into  the  infinite? 

Hearken  unto  it : 

"  For  we  walk  by  faith^  not  by  sight/'  2  Corin- 
thians 5 : 7. 

We  cannot  walk  by  faith  with  sight  ;  that  is  impos- 
sible ;  only  as  we  become  naturally  blind  can  we  walk  by 
faith. 

Faith  is  eyesight ! 

True !  but  it  is  eyesight  for  seeing  things  that  do  not 
exist  in  the  vision  of  nature. 

The  Church  has  no  need  for  the  ''  vision  of  nature." 

She  has  no  need  to  bind  up  the  daily  newspaper  with 
her  Bible. 

She  has  no  need  to  send  special  reporters  to  Russia,  or 
Japan,  or  the  islands  of  the  sea. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  have  a  calendar  hung  up  in  her 
meeting  houses,  whereby  she  may  see  how  near  or  far  is 
the  Coming  of  her  Lord. 

The  church  is  not  to  be  looking  for  signs. 

Nay !  she  is  to  be  waiting  for  a  sound. 

A  sound !  a  sound ! a  sound ! 

Aye !  she  is  to  be  waiting  for  three  sounds  that  shall  be 
as  one: 

The  Shout  of  the  Lord. 

The  Voice  of  the  archangel. 

The  Sounding  of  the  Trump. 

The  Church  is  not  to  be  waiting  for  the  Brightness  of 
His  Presence,  but  for  the  Presence;  not  for  the  Glory, 
but  ihe  Lord  Himself. 


THE  TWO'FOLD   COMING  323 

The  Church  is  to  be  waiting  for  the  first  stage  of  the 
Coming. 

The  church  is  never  to  be  "  gazing  up  into  Heaven." 

Neither  gazing  into  Heaven  above  nor  into  time 
schemes  below. 

The  angels  asked  the  disciples  the  warning  question: 
"  Why  stand  ye  gazing  up  into  heaven?  "    Acts  i :  11. 

They  assured  them  the  Lord  was  coming  back,  and 
coming  back  in  the  same  manner  in  which  He  had  gone 
away;  that  is,  unobserved  by  the  world  and  into  their 
midst. 

He  might  come  back  even  while  the  angels  were  talk- 
ing to  them. 

He  ascended  to  Heaven  and  came  back  just  as  rapidly 
as  that  on  one  occasion  after  His  resurrection. 

It  was  on  the  morning  of  His  resurrection. 

Mary  met  Him  and  would  have  touched  Him  with  her 
hands  of  adoration  and  love ;  but  He  bade  her  not  to 
touch  Him,  telling  her  that  He  had  '^  not  yet  ascended  to 
His  Father."  Then  He  bade  her  go  and  tell  His  brethren 
that  He  was  ascending,  that  He  was  even  then  in  the 
act  of  ascending  to  His  Father  and  theirs. 

He  would  not  allow  her  to  touch  Him  because  He  was 
ascending  at  that  moment  to  Heaven. 

But  the  same  evening  He  stood  in  the  midst  of  His 
disciples. 

Between  the  morning  when  He  met  Mary  and  the 
evening  when  He  stood  in  their  midst  and  said,  "  Peace 
be  unto  you,"  He  had  ascended  to  Heaven  and  returned. 
(See  John  20:  11-19.) 

He  might  then  come  back  while  the  angels  were  talking 
with  them ;  therefore  the  angels  bade  them  not  to  be 


324  THE   COMING    OF   CHRIST 

"  gazing  "  up  into  Heaven,  but  to  go  back  to  Jerusalem 
and  be  found  of  Him,  if  He  should  return,  doing  the 
work  He  had  committed  to  them. 

They  were  not  to  be  "  gazing,"  but  "  waiting." 

But  while  they  were  waiting  they  were  to  be  working. 

He  Himself  had  said : 

"  Blessed  is  that  servant,  whom  his  lord,  when  he  com- 
2th,  SHALL  FIND  SO  DOING."    Matthew  24 :  46. 

This  then  is  the  attitude  of  the  church. 

Waiting  for  the  first  stage  of  the  Coming,  waiting  for 
the  Parousia,  waiting  for  the  secret  Presence,  waiting  for 
the  shout  that  shall  lift  into  His  presence ;  but  so  working 
in  His  name,  so  occupying  every  moment,  so  buying  up 
opportunities  that  if  she  should,  indeed,  be  caught  away 
into  the  air  to  meet  Him,  she  would  go  and  not  be  empty- 
handed. 

Let  us  then  do  what  our  hands  find  to  do,  buying  up 
opportunities  for  ourselves,  walking  in  the  pathway  of 
the  good  works  wherein  He  has  before  ordained  that  we 
should  walk,  not  gazing  up  into  Heaven,  nor  busied  with 
the  sequence,  or  forecast  of  events  on  earth ;  not  occupied 
with  the  movements  in  the  East,  the  defection  of  the 
Church,  or  the  condition  of  society,  as  though  these  things 
could,  for  a  moment,  be  better  evidence  of  His  approach 
than  His  own  faithful  promise :  "  In  an  hour  when  ye 
think  not ;  "  or.  His  assurance  of  imminency  in  the  solemn, 
yet  tender  exhortation  to  "  Watch." 

Let  us  indeed  have  an  intelligent  apprehension  of  the 
times  and  the  events,  so  far  as  these  things  are  the  en- 
dorsement of  His  Word,  the  emphasis  of  His  prophecies, 
and  the  foreview  concerning  the  days  when  the  church 
shall  be  gone. 

Let  us  understand  that  every  moment  the  platform  is 


THE   TWO-FOLD   COMING  325 

being  put  together  for  the  concluding  acts  in  the  drama 
of  time ;  that  all  things  in  Heaven  and  in  earth  are  moving 
forward  to  the  Consummation ;  let  us  accept  all  things  as 
the  dotting  of  the  i  and  the  crossing  of  the  t  in  the  plan  of 
Him  to  whom  all  His  works  are  known  from  the  begin- 
ning of  the  world,  but  let  us  recognize  that  the  Parousia, 
the  secret  presence  of  our  Lord  in  the  upper  air,  and  our 
sudden  translation  to  His  side,  are  not  bound  up  with, 
nor  dependent  on,  any  of  these  events ;  and  that  His 
coming  for  us  is  as  liable  and  imminent  now,  as  any 
moment  when  He  bade  His  disciples  to  watch  and  wait; 
and  that  in  our  ears  as  in  theirs,  He  utters  the  solemn 
admonition : 

"  What  I  say  unto  you,  I  say  unto  all, 

"  WATCH." 


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"How  to  Study  the  Bible" 

is  a  book  that  has  won  a  high  place  in  the  estimation  of  students 
of  The  Word.  The  first  chapter  is  a  comprehensive  and  instructive 
treatise  that  gives  directions  for  the  study  of  the  Bible — of  great 
value  to  all  who  wish  to  gain  an  intelligent  knowledge  of  how  to 
understand  its  messages  and  to  become  enriched  by  its  hid  treas- 
ures. The  remaining  chapters  (see  titles  below)  are  expositional 
presentations  of  leading  Bible  Themes  given  in  a  most  original  and 
enjoyable  way.  The  book  has  had  an  excellent  reception  and  been 
accorded  high  praise.      The  present  is  the  third  edition. 

The  author.  Rev.  I.  M.  Haldeman,  has  been  for  many  years 
pastor  of  the  First  Baptist  Church,  New  York  City,  and  has  long 
been  recognized  as  occupying  a  foremost  place  among  the  few  great 
Bible  Teaching  Pastors  and  Expository  Preachers  of  the  world,  and 
therefore  gains  an  easy  hearing  not  only  from  the  large  and  eager 
audiences  that  regularly  fill  his  church,  but  also  from  the  Bible-loving 
class  of  Christians,  to  be  found  everywhere,  who  delight  in  the 
things  new  and  old  which  God's  gifted  stewards  are  able  to  bring 
forth  from  The  Word. 

This  volume  is  admirably  adapted  to  serve  as  a  Book  of  Refer- 
ence or  COMMENTARY  on  the  wide  range  of  Scripture  Truth 
which  it  covers. 


THE   FOLLOWING 

LIST  OF  CONTENTS 

WILL   SUGGEST  THE   GENERAL  SCOPE   OF   THE   BOOK 


How   to    Study   the    Bible 
The  Second  Coming 
The   Holy   Spirit 
The  Two  Natures 
The  So-Called  Lord's 

Prayer 
Spiritual  Growth 
A    Friend   in    Need 
Unhesitating  Confidence 
A  New  Name 
The  Indwelling  Presence 
Abiding  in    Christ 
Consecration  of  Ability 
Genesis  Fourth  and  Fifth 
The  Sabbath 
The   Story  of  Joseph 
The  Unrent  Vail 


The  Rent  Vail 

The  Golden  Bells 

The  Story  of  Two  Birds 

The  Present  Age 

The  Story  of  Eliezer  and 

the   Bride 
Times  of  Restitution 
Jeremiah 
The  Church 
Studies  in  Ruth 
John  nth  and  12th 
The  Syrophoenician 
The  Leaven 
The  Story  of  Lot 
Four  Judgments 
Two-Fold  Coming 
Christians 


The     Oneness    of     Christ 

and   Christians 
Man's     Ruin    and    God'a 

Remedy 
Law  and  Gospel 
Rod  and  Rock 
Rod  that   Budded 
Outlines  of  Prophecy 
Of  Whom  I  Am  Chief 
Earthly  Things 
The  Imminent  Coming 
Moses 
Paul 

The  Delicate  Seal 
Meet     for     the     Master's 

Use 


Third  Edition  contain*  a  Comphremsive  Ditpensational  Chart  in  Colors;  alio.  Portrait  qf  Author 
Handsomely  bound,  12mo,  Cloth,  580  pages.     $1.50 


Charles  C  Cook,  150  Nassau  Street,  New  York,  N.  Y. 


Theosophy  or  Chistianity! 

WHICH? 


a 


A  Comparison  hy  Rev.  I.  M.  Haldeman, 
New  York,  with  an  introduction  b^  Rev,  T, 
DeWitt  Talmage,  D.D, 

N  XRAY  treatment  clearly  showing  the  unholy  origin  of 
Theosophy,  its  foul  character  and  its  dismal  outlook,  in 
striking  contrast  to  the  beauty  and  glorious  triumph  of  the 


Christian's  faith. 

FROM  THE  HERALD  AND  PRESBYTER: 

HE  first  edition  of  this  little  book  was  printed  some 


O 


years  ago.  It  is  still  up  to  date,  and  still  as 
greatly  needed  as  when  first  published.  It  is  a 
very  brief,  crisp,  satisfactory,  setting  forth  the  mean- 
ing, origin,  nature,  purpose  and  teaching  of  the  dark, 
heathen  system  of  theosophy  on  one  hand,  and  of  the 
blessed  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  on  the  other.  It  is  a  good 
statement  and  calculated  to  do  great  good." 

Second  edition.  Price,  20  cents. 


Can  Morality  Save  Us? 


By  Rev.  I.  M.  Haldeman. 
A  powerful,  logical  argument  of  unique  interest, 

FROM    THE   WATCHMAN: 

HE    most    logical,    convincing    and    satisfactory 
answer  to  this  question  is  the  booklet  by  Rev. 
M,    Haldeman,    D.D.,    pastor   of   the    First 
Baptist  Church  of  New  York  City." 

Second  edition.  Price,  10  cents. 

CHARLES  C.  COOK 

150  Nassau  Street  NEW  YORK,  N.  Y. 


©1 


UNIVERSITY   OF   CALIFORNIA 
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